Sakura: The Light of Change
by BloodRavenFan
Summary: [REWRITTEN] In a world where the Shinigami do not exist, what role do the Quincy play? And what will the crossed fates of Sakura and Uryuu result in? ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

I've completely re-written the story to make it more believable (not to mention easier to write).

Chapter 1: Beginnings

Tokiomi Tohsaka sat at his desk, considering the future of his younger daughter. The Matou had offered to adopt her, and while Tokiomi would normally have conceded, another factor had entered the equation: a Quincy, Dr Ryuuken Ishida, had recently arrived in Fuyuki City to work at a private hospital in the area, and in a surprising move for a Quincy, had sent a polite greeting and introduction to the Mages Association Supervisor – Tokiomi himself.

Quincy: a word that invokes a mix of emotions for both the Mages Association and the Church. For the former, it is a source of exasperation, fear, and anger. Quincy were originally the descendants of mage clans who, either by lack of magic circuits or simply by coincidence, were passed over for training. A thousand years ago, many of these dispossessed mages banded together and after inventing and unlocking the basic principles of the Quincy Cross, became the first known Quincy. By using the Quincy Cross as an external magic circuit, they were able to develop their own unique variations of magecraft (though the Quincy never considered themselves as mages), and began operating independently of the Mages Association.

As the centuries passed, the Quincy grew in number, as they adopted the practice of teaching Quincy techniques to _every _member of their families, and eagerly recruited Humans with spiritual awareness to train even more Quincy. Finally, two hundred years ago, to preserve their power, the Mages Association moved to exterminate the Quincy – an act that backfired horribly. Although approximately eighty per cent of the Quincy were killed, the surviving twenty per cent were those who specialized in combat techniques; entire divisions of Enforcers were wiped out without mercy before the Association cut its losses and ended the extermination operation. As the Quincy recovered, they refined their combat techniques, and found a new calling; they would not act on their grudge over the recent extermination operation lest they become no better than the Association, but now they would seek to render it (and themselves) obsolete. The Quincy turned to science to do so, seeking to translate metaphysical Thamauturgical principles into scientific terms and apply them technologically; the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century vindicated this mind set, and the Quincy glorified their new path to the future.

The Church itself had originally ignored the Quincy, correctly predicting that their rivals in the Association would wipe them out. But when the Quincy survivors resurged and proved instrumental in launching the Industrial Revolution, the Church's curiosity was piqued. The Quincy focus on science to render magecraft and magic obselete caused quite a stir; traditionalists feared that faith itself might be rendered obsolete, and advocated another extermination operation. Ultimately however, a different choice was made. Reasoning that while magecraft and magic might be rendered obsolete, faith itself could not; Humanity by its very nature would always seek to believe in something greater than itself, and seek solace for all the hardships of this world beyond the cold assurances of science. Therefore, the Church supported the Quincy, greatly assisting in their recovery; the discovery that Quincy Holy Arrows could utterly destroy supernatural beings like Dead Apostles further cemented their relationship, with many Quincy becoming Church Executors.

Tokiomi was too intelligent not to suspect that Dr Ishida's arrival might be a move on the part of the Quincy to observe, or even enter into the Holy Grail Wars. But what really intrigued him was that Dr Ishida had a son, Uryuu, who was the same age as Sakura. Tokiomi could let Sakura be adopted by the Matou; as their heiress, Sakura would then challenge Rin in the future for the Holy Grail, and both would achieve fame regardless of whoever won. But another course of action was open to him; he could arrange a marriage between Uryuu and Sakura; knowing the Quincy, Sakura would be trained in their techniques, and while this would pose a great threat to Rin considering the might of the famed Quincy Archers, if Rin defeated Sakura, it would carry so much more prestige. Not to mention it would allow the Matou to die out for good, something Tokiomi had no problem with. And he also knew that in the interests of good relations, this Dr Ishida would not refuse his offer. With a smile on his face, Tokiomi crumpled the letter from Zouken Matou and threw it into a trash can even as he began to make arrangements for Sakura's pending engagement.

* * *

Ryuuken Ishida stood beside his son at the Fuyuki City park, waiting for the arrival of Tokiomi Tohsaka and his daughter. Sensing his son's discomfort, Ryuuken said "Calm down, Uryuu. You said you wouldn't mind getting to know the girl when you saw her picture, so why are you so fidgety?"

"Well, that was before I knew I was going to marry her whether I like it or not." Uryuu snapped back.

Ryuuken smiled and replied "Oh really? Then why is it you keep her picture beside your bed?" Ryuuken chuckled at Uryuu's expense as he blushed and muttered something Ryuuken couldn't hear. Any further conversation became impossible as a car drove up nearby; soon afterwards, Tokiomi and Sakura emerged, the latter wearing a beautiful kimono with a floral pattern. To Ryuuken's amusement, he noticed that Uryuu couldn't keep his eyes off her. Stopping in front of the two Quincy, Tokiomi introduced himself and his daughter, after which the two Quincy introduced themselves as well. "Go on, Uryuu; go and get to know Sakura." Ryuuken urged on the reluctant Uryuu; after a few moments, Sakura (who was shyly hiding behind her father), shyly took Uryuu's hand and pulled him away. The two adults watched as their children slowly started to open up to each other as they walked through the park. After a moment, Tokiomi spoke up and said "You don't trust me Ishida, though I don't blame you for that."

Ryuuken pushed his glasses up his nose before replying "I'm well aware that you suspect me of coming here to observe or even enter this war…but I assure you that I have no intention of involving myself in this fiasco. I'm a doctor at a hospital; nothing more, nothing less." Smiling, Tokiomi asked in reply "Then why did you accept this arranged marriage?"

"It's not like I have much of a choice, do I? If I didn't accept our respective positions would have grown rather tense. And besides, it inconveniences the Matou. Not that bad of a deal as I see it." Ryuuken replied calmly. Chuckling, Tokiomi asked again "Then are you here to kill them?"

Smiling coldly, Ryuuken answered "Don't think I'm not tempted. We know more about them than you do, Tohsaka; but even so, it is better that the Matou continue to exist for now."

* * *

_In the Fuyuki City park Uryuu and Sakura walked hand-in-hand, talking about the things they liked and disliked. "Hey Uryuu, do you really want to marry me?" asked Sakura all of a sudden. "I mean, this was decided by our parents, but I don't want to force you to marry me if you don't want to."_

_Looking uncomfortable for a moment, Uryuu stammered out "I-it's not like I don't like you…I mean, you're really pretty and nice…" Uryuu's voice failed him as he blushed and looked away; after a moment, Sakura laughed and said "You really think I'm pretty? You're a nice person, you know that?"_

"_You really think so?" asked Uryuu, looking back at Sakura. "Yes!" she replied with a smile before looking away and saying "Well, we won't get married until we're older, so until then, let's get to know each other more, all right?"_

"_Yeah, I think we can do that. After all, we'll be living together starting tomorrow." Uryuu replied with a nod, after which Sakura said "Hey Uryuu, close your eyes for me please." After a moment, he complied; and taking a deep breath, Sakura closed her eyes and kissed him on the lips, catching her fiancé by surprise. Uryuu fell back with a cry of surprise and blushing very deeply; Sakura was also blushing and holding a hand to her mouth, said "That was my first kiss…"_

_After a moment, Uryuu also said "It was also mine too…" After another moment, the two began to laugh…_

…as a pair of eyes with bright-blue irises snapped open to wakefulness.

* * *

"I had a dream last night." Sakura said as she put the newly-washed dishes back into storage.

"What was it about?" Uryuu asked, as he wiped the table clean. Sakura smiled and narrowed her eyes before answering "Our first meeting." As expected, the prudish Uryuu stiffened, then recovering, coughed and answered "Is that so now?"

"You don't think it's a big deal?" Sakura asked, a little hurt over his apparent disdain for that shared memory.

"Well, it did happen ten years ago." Uryuu answered in a placating manner.

"Oh really; so the times when you get so affectionate…" Sakura began to say, obviously trying to trap her fiancé when a blushing Uryuu rather quickly interrupted with "Don't bring that up!"

As he coughed to regain his composure, Sakura finished fixing the dishes, and after removing her apron, got out a first aid kit and began wrapping a bandage around her right hand. "How do you intend to deal with that?" Uryuu asked, causing Sakura to pause her concealment of the jagged tattoo on her right hand. "Nothing for now; what will happen, will happen. And when the time comes, I'll destroy that cursed artefact with my Holy Arrows." She replied, before continuing to wrap the bandage. After a moment, Uryuu sighed, and to her surprise, went to her side and grabbing her hand, finished it for her. "There you go. That should do, shouldn't it?" he asked.

After a moment, she smiled, leaned forwards and kissed his cheek before saying "Yeah, it should do. Come on, we're going to be late."

* * *

As they walked down the street towards school, the two talked about the usual things students worried about…until they spotted a girl similar in appearance to Sakura on the other side of an intersection. "Nee-san?" Sakura said, before a crafty look came to her face. As she looked around to see if there were any other witnesses, Uryuu began to say "Sakura, what are you…"

It was too late however; after realizing there was no one else there, the grinning Sakura used Hirenkyaku to close the distance in an instant and grabbing her surprised sister's chest from behind, shouted "Good morning, nee-san!" The response was typically swift; one moment, Sakura was groping her sister from behind, the next, she was squatting on the ground clutching her head with a very pissed off Rin holding up a clenched fist. "What's with you, trying to reshape my head like that?" Sakura asked in outrage as a concerned Uryuu arrived using Hirenkyaku as well.

"I could say the same about you; what are you doing groping me every damn morning?"

"Oh please; it's not like you actually anticipate it. Otherwise, I never could have done it more than once…or could it be that you actually enjoy it?"

"W-what are you suggesting, you crazy Quincy?" Rin's stuttering broke off when Uryuu began to laugh. As Sakura got to her feet, he said "You two really are sisters with those reactions; though you shouldn't hide behind such a façade so much, Tohsaka-senpai."

Rin began to reply when they heard the several voices of people animatedly chatting from down the street. After a few moments, several girls and a single guy appeared from around a corner and moved off towards their school. "Oh, it's just Matou and his fan club." Rin said.

"Slimy snake…" Sakura said with a deadpan expression.

"Amateur archer…" Uryuu said as he pushed his glasses back up his nose.

Thrown off balance by their comments, Rin told the two "Aren't you two being a bit harsh to him? I mean, yeah he is a jerk, but he's got no potential as a mage so…"

Sakura snorted and replied "Trash is trash."

Uryuu nodded in agreement and said "Pretty much; now come on you two, we're going to be late at this rate."

As they walked down the street, Sakura said "I heard that you crushed Matou's pride without mercy, nee-san."

"Yeah, so I did. I guess I'm a hypocrite, telling you to go easy on him. Still, I'm surprised he hasn't gone after you or your large circle of friends to get to you."

"The thought apparently crossed his mind; he's not as stupid as he looks or acts."

"And what did you tell him after he said that?"

"I told him if he ever pulled a stunt like that I'd shoot him in the back. Since then, he's only tried to go after me directly; a smart move: I really would have shot him in the back."

"Assuming I don't shoot his balls off first." Uryuu put in with a sinister smile, and Sakura chuckled. Rin suppressed a shiver of unease and thought to herself "_These Quincy are crazy!_"

* * *

_Later on, at lunch break_

"Hey look, its Sakura-hime." A guy said to his friends as he looked out the window. Sure enough, there was Sakura sitting on a bench, drinking something.

"You idiot; what are you calling her a princess for? If anyone should be a princess, its Rin-senpai." One of his friends said. Another one snorted and said "Oh please; yeah Rin-senpai is just as smart and attractive, but she's a block of ice. Sakura-hime, on the other hand, is friendly and someone who knows how to have fun."

The first guy nodded in agreement before saying with a tone of emphasis "Plus, she's got a bigger chest."

"You pervert…" began the second guy when he noticed someone approaching Sakura. "Oh no, not again; that moron Matou just doesn't know when to quit does he? This isn't going to end well for him."

"No kidding; it's only a matter of time before those two show up." The first guy said in affirmation.

* * *

"What do you want, Matou?" Sakura asked in a tone dripping with contempt.

"Well now, aren't you forgetting your honorifics, Tohsaka-san?" Shinji replied in an affable fashion. Sakura snorted before replying "Respect must be earned, Matou. And only one of your thrice-cursed family has ever earned it."

"You mean that blood-traitor Kariya? Grandfather will have him killed before long."

"Empty threats from a failure and a walking plague are a major turn off." Sakura said, smirking as the affable look on Shinji's face vanished, to be replaced by a look of fury.

"What did you just call me?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"A failure; what else can you be? You have no natural Thamauturgical potential, and are dependent on stolen magic circuits which have to be jury-rigged to your body. Not to mention even with that, your energy control is pitifully amateurish, and you have to use those moronic girls in your fan club to manage your unstable energy. Don't even get me started on your disgusting familiars. As for your grandfather, he's a rotting corpse that's since spent its welcome on this world. I'm surprised the Church hasn't ordered his execution yet; should I appeal for it, I wonder? Or should I just burn him to ashes the first chance I get?" Sakura all but sang out in a sing-song voice with a confident expression on her face, while Shinji's anger flared hotter and hotter with every word.

"You bitch…" he began to say when a shadow fell on him and massive hands grabbed by the arms. Looking over his shoulders, Shinji's anger faded away to be replaced by terror as he gasped out "Tamiya-senpai…Otaki-senpai…"

"Matou…causing trouble for the Auto Club President…didn't we tell you not to do that?" Tamiya asked in his rumbling voice.

"Looks like you need some guidance from your elders, Matou." Otaki said in a light-hearted fashion that completely failed to reassure Shinji, who by this point was petrified in terror at the thought what these Human mountains would do to him if he resisted.

"Guys, guys, there's no need for you to get involved. I was already blowing him off when you guys arrived…" Sakura began to say in a placating fashion but Tamiya interrupted.

"Out of the question; as gentlemen and members of the Auto Club we have a responsibility to look out for you, Miss President!" he brazenly declared.

"That's right, Miss President! Just leave this to us!" Otaki affirmed, giving Sakura a thumb up.

After a moment of open-mouthed exasperation, Sakura sighed and with a weary look and smile told the two "Alright, I'll leave this to you." Then, with a stern expression, she pointed a finger at them and said with a note of warning in her voice "Just don't beat him up; you guys are graduating this year, so don't get into unnecessary trouble."

"Leave it to us!" Tamiya said, as he and Otaki frog-marched the whimpering Shinji away.

"Bye-bye." Sakura sang out in a sing-song voice and waved a hand in mock farewell before sighing and looking at her sister as she arrived and asked "Are those two going to put Shinji in the dumpster again?"

Sakura chuckled before replying "Well, trash does belong in the trash."

"True; but it seems to me you have a personal vendetta against the Matou, one that goes beyond your acquired Quincy antipathy for mages, or mere annoyance at his continued attempts to acquire you as a trophy."

Sakura dropped her smile and narrowed her eyes before replying "That's true. I don't know why, but Shinji and his damned grandfather – who I've never actually met – just seem to rub me the wrong way. I simply want to burn the two of them to ashes, despite the irrationality of it all. Well, irrationality is part of being Human; I don't need to run or hide from that." Sakura finished before standing up and walking back to the school. As she reached the door, she saw Tamiya and Otaki walk around a corner, and at the sight of her, flashed her a thumbs up, indicating a job well done. Sakura smiled, nodded, and walked back into the school.

* * *

"Hasegawa-san, Uryuu and I have to meet someone at the Terminal, so please oversee the club meeting today." Sakura told the younger girl as she prepared to leave.

"Well, it's not like you skip out on club activities regularly, so I suppose it's alright." The younger girl conceded reluctantly.

"Alright then..." Sakura said, walking off to meet Uryuu. Shaking her head to ward off jealousy that the club president had someone, Hasegawa gathered her things and went off to the Auto Club meeting place.

* * *

_Fuyuki City Terminal_

The Bullet Train arrived on time and stopped precisely with a display of technological brilliance; the doors opened, and a flood of commuters flowed out while others more waited for their turn to board. Among the former was a silver-haired young woman with a serene look on her face and wearing the clothes of a Church Priestess. She was quite beautiful in her own right, and she turned heads as she walked through the crowd pulling a trolley behind her. As she reached the Terminal doors, she looked around in the twilit evening and spotted what she was looking for among the crowds: a pair of middle school students both sporting ornate, silver crosses on silver chains – Quincy Crosses.

"Welcome to Fuyuki City, Overseer." Uryuu greeted her politely as she walked up to them.

"Ciel told you who I am then, Quincy Archers?" she replied with a bow.

"Yes, she did. Carten Ortensia, Priestess of the Church in Fuyuki City, and Overseer of the Holy Grail War." Sakura said, holding three small silver cylinders between the fingers of one hand. As they walked off to a secluded spot down the street away from the Terminal, she crushed them open and with a short incantation in German, vanished in a swirl of silver light.

* * *

A/N

Sakura and Rin; Rin is the school idol – beautiful, smart, but ultimately an untouchable figure to be admired from a distance (especially since as we and those close to her can testify, this is just a façade as the 'real' Rin is rude, impatient, and a troll). AU Sakura however, is the 'Princess of the Masses'; like Rin she's smart and beautiful (and has a bigger chest), and while you can't hit on her or date her since she's engaged, she's easier to make friends with and to hang out with – as one guy in the story said, she knows how to have fun (Sakura's hobby is playing video games; she loves racing simulators in particular and is a common enough sight in arcades).

And yes, those are the same hulking giants (Tamiya and Otaki) from Ah! My Goddess and the same Auto Club. And Sakura is the club president.

Oh and, Carl Sagan and Nikola Tesla among others were both Quincy Masters. Make of that what you will.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Chapter 2: The Decision

_Two children ran across the forest, their outlines blurring as they sped through the trees with unnatural speed. At first glance, the two seemed quite ordinary; a pair of ten year olds in casual attire, but there was nothing ordinary with how they ran, considering that from time to time they seemed to run on empty air itself, or the silver crosses they wore. Finally, they reached their destination, where a saintly old man in white, habit-like clothes waited while looking at his watch. As the two children caught their breath, the old man beamed and congratulated them, saying "Well done you two. You arrived here two minutes faster than the last time."_

"_Only two minutes?" Uryuu groaned out, but Sakura simply said "Well, its progress at any rate."_

_Souken Ishida nodded and said "Yes, its progress. There's no need to rush your training, the two of you." Kneeling down and placing a hand on their shoulders, he continued "You are young, and you have your whole lives ahead of you. Cherish every moment you have, and be thankful that you are alive. And never forget, that there is no point in achieving your goals if you lose yourself in the process. Now then, why don't we have lunch before we move on to archery training?"_

"_Alright!" Sakura and Uryuu shouted happily, and laughing softly at their childish enthusiasm, Souken went to get the bento boxes he had prepared for his two students._

Sakura awoke abruptly, her alarm clock buzzing loudly; somewhat unhappy at being woken from such a pleasant sleep, she turned it off, and after a few moments, stood up from her bed. Yawning, she stretched, her night clothes showing off her figure quite nicely, before walking to the windows and opening the curtains, causing her to squint briefly at the bright morning light. Turning back to her room, she took a pen from her bedside table before heading to the door, which had a calendar pinned to it; as she moved to cross out the date, she realized what day it was, causing her to pause for a long moment.

* * *

Sakura walked down a hallway at school, humming cheerfully to herself, when she heard a boy and a girl talking down another hallway. From the sound of things, the guy was rather insistent on something, whereas the girl wasn't so enthusiastic. Moving carefully and quietly to avoid being noticed, Sakura edged towards and peeked around a corner. "_Matou…of course; who else could it be?_" she thought to herself, her eyes narrowing as she saw a girl slightly cowering on the wall away from Shinji. Sighing, she opened her bag and fumbled through it before she found what she was looking for.

"I'm really sorry, Matou-senpai, but I'm not really interested…" the girl was saying when Shinji interrupted, saying in an insistent tone "Oh come on, it'll be fun, I promise. And it's not like we'll be alone together; several other girls will be with us…"

Before he could say any more, Shinji felt someone tap him a few times on a shoulder with a finger. Turning, he was about to say something when Sakura sprayed his face and his eyes in particular with something that caused him to stagger back, shouting and rubbing his eyes in agony. "Well, what do you know? Perhaps this wasn't a total loss after all." Sakura said with a smile, holding a small plastic aerosol bottle in one hand.

"Tohsaka-san, that's?" the girl asked somewhat timidly. Looking at her, Sakura brandished the bottle and said "Pepper spray; it works surprisingly well against perverts and people who just can't take no for an answer. You should buy one yourself." Turning back to Shinji, she told the girl "Go; leave this idiot me."

After a moment, the girl turned and began to jog away, but before that, bowed and said to Sakura "Um, thank you very much, Tohsaka-san."

As the girl fled the scene, Shinji finally pulled himself together, and glaring at Sakura, told her angrily "What the hell, Tohsaka?" Sakura responded by spraying him again, sending him reeling once more. "I think you've ruined enough girls' lives, Matou; you won't be getting that one, I'm afraid." Then without another word to spoil her moment of victory, Sakura haughtily turned and walked away, slipping her pepper spray into a pocket.

* * *

"What's this?" Sora Hasegawa asked as she arrived outside the shed that served as the Auto Club's meeting place, noticing a tarp-covered, car-shaped object sitting outside the same shed. Tamiya Toraichi shrugged and said "No idea. Apparently, Tohsaka-san had it delivered here to the Auto Club for the End of School Festival. It's probably a car, but…" Tamiya stopped as Sakura arrived and with her usual cheerful tone called everyone together.

"Alright everyone, gather round." She said, stopping next to the tarp-covered vehicle. "Now, as you know, all the school clubs have to produce something to present at the End of School Festival. However, since this will also be the year Tamiya-san and Otaki-san will be graduating, I wanted our project to be special. Therefore, without any further ado, allow me to present the material for our project." As she said this, she pulled the tarp off, stunning the other members of the Auto Club with what they saw.

"T-this is…" Tamiya stammered.

"I-it can't be…" Otaki stammered in turn, just as stunned by what he was seeing.

"But it is…" Hasegawa said.

"That's right; it's a Nissan Skyline GT-R. I found the poor thing waiting to be scrapped at a junk yard, so I 'rescued' it. So, what do you think?" Sakura said with a hand on the car's hood.

"How much did it cost?" Hasegawa asked, ever practical. Sakura giggled, giddy at the memory, and then holding up a finger, said "Well, it's a funny story actually."

_Begin Flashback_

"_Everything here costs twenty thousand yen?" Sakura asked, the question directed at the long-haired man who owned the junk yard. Nodding, the man answered "That's right; whether it's a truck, car, motorcycle, bike, or even just a piece of junk, it's always twenty thousand yen."_

"_Oh really?" Sakura said absent-mindedly, as she walked past the piles of abandoned vehicles and parts, her refined spiritual awareness somehow picking up an air of sadness from all the abandoned machines around her. "How much does this cost?" she asked, pointing at a motorcycle with its front section torn off._

"_Twenty thousand yen." The owner replied, reading a magazine as he reclined on a beach chair under an umbrella nearby._

"_How about this one?" Sakura asked again, this time pointing at truck without wheels._

"_Everything there is worth twenty thousand yen." The owner replied again, this time with a note of irritation._

"_Even this?" Sakura said, holding up a broken pipe._

"_For the last time, each and every last one of those pieces of junk are all worth twenty thousand yen!" The owner shouted angrily, putting down his magazine._

_Shrugging, Sakura threw the pipe away…causing a whole pile of junk to collapse and the owner to run up in concern; after all, he'll be held responsible if a customer got hurt while in his establishment. Sakura, however, was unhurt, and was staring at what the mini-avalanche had exposed. As the owner ran up to her side, she put her hands on her hips, smiled craftily and told the suddenly sour-faced owner "Twenty thousand yen, right?"_

_End Flashback_

The whole Auto Club had been holding it all in while Sakura was telling her story, and when she finished, broke out in uproarious laughter. "A GT-R for twenty thousand yen; what a bargain!" said one member happily.

"Right, we'll fix it up, turning it from 'junk' to something worth the title 'supercar'." Sakura said, unbuttoning and pulling off her vest and blouse (essentially stripping down to her undershirt), hung them on a chair, opened her toolkit and put on her safety goggles. "Tamiya-san, Otaki-san, you're in charge of the engine. Hasegawa-san, you handle any necessary calculations. I'll check out the suspension, and the rest of you guys go over the body. Now then, let's get this show on the road." She finished enthusiastically, delegating all the necessary tasks which the Auto Club set about doing with equal enthusiasm. As they got down to their assigned tasks, she took a flashlight and an old skateboard, and lying down on the latter, slid under the car and began to check out the GT-R's suspension, taking comfort in the familiar hustle and bustle of her fellow club members.

* * *

"Alright everyone, that's enough for today." Sakura finally said, fixing up her tools and putting her blouse and vest back on. They'd done quite well, removing the engine and setting up a basic plan not just to fix it but also to tune it as well and identifying problems with both the body and the suspension.

"Hasegawa-san, oversee the clean-up. I've got something personal to attend to. Bye!" Sakura said, running off once her equipment had been fixed and her uniform back in place.

"Hey wait, Tohsaka-san…" Hasegawa began when Tamiya put a hand on one of her shoulders. "Let her go; don't you know what day it is?" he told her.

"Day…oh, I see." Hasegawa said, suddenly remembering what day it was. With a sigh, she proceeded to oversee the clean-up.

* * *

The sky had the familiar orange of sunset when Sakura arrived at the cemetery gates, holding a bundle of flowers; waiting for her at the entrance was Uryuu, leaning against a wall. "Hey there, Sakura." He greeted her as she came within earshot.

"Uryuu…have you been waiting long?" she asked as she entered the cemetery, Uryuu falling into step beside her.

"Not really; about five minutes or so." He answered with a shrug.

"I see; sorry for making you wait so long."

"No need to apologize." He didn't say any more, as they had arrived at their destination, Sakura kneeling down and placing the flowers before her mother's tombstone. After several moments with only the sound of a soft breeze blowing through the trees in the cemetery, Uryuu placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. After a moment, Sakura reached up with her own hand and placed it on his hand. "Thanks for being here with me, Uryuu."

"You say that every year whenever we come here."

"Do you mind?"

"Maybe, but I'd mind even more if you didn't say that."

Sakura didn't bother to reply to that, simply smiling at his words. Sensing someone approach, she and Uryuu looked behind them and saw Rin approaching, carrying a bundle of flowers. Seeing the two of them, she smiled sadly and said "Well now, looks you got here ahead of me this year, Sakura."

Smiling sadly herself, Sakura replied "I doubt mom would care." She stood up, then nodding at Uryuu, walked away from the grave, past her sister, and out the cemetery gates, her fiancé following close behind here. "Sakura…" Rin said sadly to herself, remembering their mother's last words to them both before she died, her heart broken by Tokiomi's death: _Don't be like your father._

* * *

"Sakura…Sakura; dinner is ready." Uryuu said from the dining room, but no response came. Curious, he walked out into the living room to find Sakura asleep on the couch, a file from the Council of Twelve lying on the floor beside her. "Honestly, falling asleep on the couch…" Uryuu said in exasperation, before shaking her awake.

"Uryuu…dinner already?" she asked, sitting up and stretching. "That's right; it's your favourite: sukiyaki." Brightening up at that, Sakura stood and followed him to the dining room. As Sakura sat down, Uryuu prepared and handed her a bowl of rice and asking "If you're reading _that_, then I assume you've made your decision?"

Sakura paused just as she reached out with her chopsticks to get a slice of meat, her mind flashing back to that hearing a month ago.

_Begin Flashback_

_The Council of Twelve; the twelve most powerful, wisest, and eldest among the hundreds of Quincy Masters across the world, between them they directed the Infinity Protocol, oversaw relations with the Mages Association and the Church, and managed Quincy operations worldwide. Sakura now stood before a holographic projection of the Councillors in the underground training area, with both Uryuu and Ryuuken standing a respectful distance behind her. "The Council has made a decision." A Councillor with a British accent began._

"_We have accepted your proposal, Ms Tohsaka. However, it is not simply on your belief that Humanity needs a leader to lead it through the doors and paths we Quincy have opened to the stars, but on a more serious threat."_

"_What we are about to tell you is most secret…" a Councillor with a Russian accent said. "…I trust you will prove worthy of our trust."_

_When Sakura said nothing, another Councillor, this one with an American accent said "Ten years ago, computer simulations and our own analysts confirmed we had at least six years and at most four decades before Human development reaches the point that Gaia ceases to recognize us as of itself, and moves to exterminate Humanity. To that end, we built the Ragnarok Array to eliminate Gaia should the situation call for it, but even if we used it, we knew that by the time we did, Humanity would have suffered at least six hundred million dead, most major cities would have been destroyed, and few functional governments would be left."_

"_Your proposal therefore, has suddenly given new colours so to speak, to our solution, as if it succeeded Humanity would have at its disposal one who could not only lead it through such a disaster, but also beyond it." The British Councillor said. "Our ally in the Mages Association has agreed, and the Catalyst is already en route to Fuyuki City."_

"_However…" a Councillor with an Indian accent interrupted. "…this proposal places you and those close to you at great risk. Therefore, I would ask that you think this over, and we will not hold it against you if you choose not to do this. Dr Ishida has more than enough expertise to remove your Command Spells if you wish it."_

_Eyes widening in surprise, Sakura spoke up, saying "But if I don't accept this…"_

"_We have faith in Humanity's strength; even if you choose not to do this, we can fight and win against all the powers in the Solar System if we have to. We know this not just as Quincy, but as Humans ourselves." The American Councillor interrupted. After a moment, Sakura nodded and said "I understand."_

_End Flashback_

"Yes, I've made my decision. To lead Humanity through the darkness that awaits us, and to shatter the seemingly inevitable dead end of our future, we need _him_, a man history has proven capable of going beyond the impossible." Looking at her fiancé in the eyes across the table, she asked "You'll stand by me, won't you, Uryuu?"

In response, Uryuu reached out across the table, and held her hand before saying "You idiot; why are you asking that now? We promised to stand by each other at the Star Festival three years ago, didn't we?"

Gripping Uryuu's hand back, Sakura smiled and said softly "Yes, we did. I guess I am an idiot, asking such a stupid question."

* * *

Later on, Uryuu waited for Sakura by a nondescript door in the back of the house. A series of heavy footsteps preceded her arrival, and Uryuu was taken aback by what he saw: she was wearing urban camouflage fatigues, armoured boots, and ballistic armour covering her torso, shoulders, shin, forearms, and thighs, all causing Uryuu to say in disbelief "What's with the Call of Duty cosplay?"

"This is no costume, Uryuu. This is the real deal; knowing this guy, he's probably going to run off to the nearest concentration of Servants. You and I can feel it; other Servants are already fighting each other out there as we speak. I'll be needing this, that's for sure."

"What about your cross?"

"Right here." Sakura replied cheerfully, pulling it out from under her fatigues.

With a sigh, Uryuu unlocked the door, turned on the lights and proceeded down the stairs to a metal door with an electronic lock, followed by Sakura. Typing in the security code, the door opened to reveal a room lined with bookshelves containing books representing the Ishida family's Quincy heritage, as well as other books, files, etc. confiscated from executed mages and Dead Apostles. A slight hum filled the air, coming from the air circulators mounted on the walls to keep the air at the right temperature and humidity to preserve the documents kept in this underground room. "I'm still surprised that the electricity bill doesn't sky rocket." Sakura commented in an off-hand fashion.

"Micro-nuclear reactors…we have NASA to thank for that." Uryuu replied.

There were two doors at the far end of the underground library: one led to a training area, and the other led to the armoury. Opening the latter, the two proceeded into a room lined with shelves. Most shelves held wooden cases that stored Standard-pattern Seele Schneider, while others had toolkits for modifying those same Seele Schneider into their many variations. Beneath the shelves were boxes, holding countless unused silver cylinders in storage. Sakura however, went to a corner of the armoury, where several metallic cases caught her attention. And they should; the only reason they were there was a result of a special request she had made. Taking a large and long case, she looked at Uryuu as he opened a safe and pulled out a glass case holding a piece of red cloth of ancient origin. "The Catalyst…" he said laconically and with a smile. Smiling back, Sakura said as she headed back to the door "Let's go."

"Do you really need to bring _that_ along?" Uryuu asked from behind her.

"_He _might show up. This should prove handy in determining his abilities."

* * *

The Catalyst – an ancient and tattered piece of red cloth - lay on the ground before her as she stood in the backyard with Uryuu a safe distance behind her. "The stars are nice tonight…" she commented. "Barrier set up, final preparations complete…let's do this!"

Sakura clapped her hands, causing her cross to flash with silver light as it drew in reishi and converted it into energy; Sakura quickly completed several hand seals, moulding the reishi streaming through her cross. As the last seal was completed, she slammed a hand on the ground, reishi materializing into a gleaming silver circle with an ornate geometric configuration within. As she stood up slowly, three smaller concentric circles materialized in the air around her. "_Honestly, to go this far…I need more training before I can use advanced techniques without the need for hand seals or silver cylinders._"

Closing her eyes and spreading her arms, she began to cast an incantation "Past, present, and future, the cycle continues unbroken: spring's promise, summer's glory, autumn's bounty, and winter's slumber. The infinite stars watch over all, reminders of a tomorrow without end. I am Sakura Tohsaka, Destroyer of Souls, Wielder of the Silver Cross, Key Master, Bearer of the Arrows of Light. On those titles I swear to unlock the door and open the path for all of Humanity. Therefore, by the infinite destiny of Humanity, I open the door to the Throne of Heroes, and ask the one I seek to come forth."

As she completed her incantation, the concentric circles began to spin, white lightning crackling between them and the circle on the ground. Then suddenly they stopped as a blindingly white bolt of light shot down from the sky to the Ishida Manor's backyard in an instant, leaving a perfectly circular hole in the clouds above it.

* * *

A/N

Hmmm, what can I say really? I suppose you can just ask me via PM or review and I'll put in some notes (except for spoilers). I do have something to say though, in a Next Episode preview style:

_**The doors and paths are open, and now the Quincy Archers seek one to lead Humanity to the future. What will the one they seek bring to the Holy Grail War? Next chapter: The Rise of the King.**_

_**The King's dreams are the dreams of his people.**_

Food for thought: what would happen if AU Sakura meets canon Sakura?

The Infinity Protocol - the formal name for the process by which Thamauturgy is translated into science and applied technologically.

The Ragnarok Array - Gaia has no true physical form; rather it is an invisible force that is the sum and product of all life on Earth. As she will eventually disown Humanity, the Quincy set up an array of orbiting nuclear bombs set to detonate in sequence and generating an energy wave with a frequency opposite to Gaia's, literally cancelling/snuffing her out in the worst-case scenario (read: killing the planet's consciousness).


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Chapter 3: The Rise of the King

If anyone in Fuyuki City saw the bolt of light searing down from the heavens to the ground, they simply dismissed it as lightning, the perfectly circular hole in the clouds above notwithstanding. But while Uryuu and Sakura knew that bolt for what it really was, more pressing to them was the fact that its arrival sent them both flying from the sheer force of the displaced air as it struck the ground. Groaning, Uryuu pulled himself together and stood up, before running to Sakura and helped her up to her feet.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" he asked in concern, and was relieved to see Sakura smile reassuringly before replying "Somehow…"

Sakura broke off when she saw the one she had brought forth from the Throne of Heroes approach. Looking up, Uryuu also saw the red-haired giant of a man approach; together, the two of them sank to one knee, and Sakura began to say "Welcome to the modern world, your Majesty…"

She broke off (again) when said person pulled her to her feet by the scruff of her neck, saying "Oh knock that off. You have the audacity to force open a door to the Throne of Heroes and bring me here, and then you get all submissive? Where's your backbone girl? Now then, let me ask this first: are you or are you not willing to stand by my side on the battlefield?"

After a moment of open-mouthed astonishment at the man's informality, Sakura briefly closed her eyes, smiled, and after looking at Uryuu (who smiled back and nodded as he stood up), replied "Well, I hope you don't mind if we prefer to fight at range, your Majesty." As she said this, both she and Uryuu materialized their bows.

The giant laughed good-naturedly before replying "Bows? Sure, why not? To each their own so long as they stand by me no matter what; only those willing to fight by my side are worthy to be my Master." Extending a hand, he continued and said "Alright then, I acknowledge you as my Master, young lady."

After a moment, Sakura shook the offered hand and said with a smile "My name is Sakura Tohsaka, and this is my fiancé, Uryuu Ishida. It's an honour, your Majesty."

"Good to have you both. And stop calling me that; I'd prefer it if you call me by name, which you probably already know, or so I hope." Sighing, the giant stood back and drew his sword, saying "Come on, let's get going."

"Go where?"

"Can't you feel it? There are other Servants out there already; I can even feel two of them quite close to one another. That'll do for starters; I'd like to go meet them and ask them something."

After looking at Uryuu with a look that clearly said _I told you so_ she coughed and said "Then would you mind if I get a few things first?"

* * *

"Is he here, Archer?" Rin asked from the corner of the school roof where she was huddled up.

"_Yes, he's here._" Archer silently replied.

"What killing intent…" Rin whispered to herself when someone behind and above her asked "Hey there little girl. Beautiful night, isn't it?"

Whirling, she saw a figure in blue clutching a crimson lance standing above her on the roof blockhouse and retorted "A lance…the Servant Lancer?"

"Quite right; and if you know that, then that must mean you're my enemy, isn't that right?" he confirmed eagerly and with a smirk. In response, Rin turned, ran, and jumped off the roof edge shouting out "I'll leave the landing to you, Archer!" Archer's response was simple and to the point: as she neared the concrete ground, she slowed as though held by an invisible force, and elegantly landing on the ground, began to run. "Lancer…we need to fight someplace where we have the advantage…"

Before she could finish what she was saying, Lancer seemed to appear out of nowhere, forcing her to jump backward as Archer materialized between and Lancer. "So, you're Archer aren't you? You don't look so tough." Lancer taunted with a cautious look on his face. With a neutral expression on his face, Archer asked his Master "What do we do, Rin? I'm ready for your command."

After a moment, she briefly closed her eyes, and with a look of resolution on her face, said "Archer, show me your power!" In response, Archer materialized a pair of falchions, and charged to meet his opponent, who brandished his own lance and snarled "An Archer trying to be swordsman? Don't joke around!"

The sound of clashing blades and displaced air caught Shiro's attention as he was cleaning the shooting range. "What was that?" he asked himself, putting on his shoes and running outside the building; there he was caught off guard by what he saw: a figure in blue wielding a crimson lance and a man in red and black holding a pair of black and white falchions engaged in a battle to the death.

"Hey, you're pretty good. Just who are you really?" Lancer asked with a grudging note of respect in his voice. "No one really…" Archer responded. "…you on the other hand, are quite easy to recognize. There's no lance user in history as skilled as you." As Lancer parried a skilled series of strikes from Archer, he noticed Shiro watching from the side lines. "Who's that?" he asked. In response, Shiro turned and ran; snarling, Lancer made to pursue, when lightning seemed to strike the ground between him, Archer, and Rin, throwing them all off-guard.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the three were even more surprised at what they saw: a gleaming, gilded chariot with deadly blades elegantly mounted on its wheels, drawn by a pair of bulls. Standing on the chariot was a redheaded giant in ancient armour and attire, all under a red, fur-lined cape; standing beside him was a woman in modern armour wearing fatigues and a Boonie hat. Something about the woman seemed familiar to Rin, but before she could consider the matter, the man loudly and proudly proclaimed "Cease this meaningless fighting and listen! I am Iskander, the King of Conquerors! My fellow Heroic Spirits, I enjoin you all to join me and my glorious armies; then together, we shall reap the fruits of this Holy Grail War, and march to glory as one! What say you?"

After a moment of flabbergasted silence by all who heard this, the woman snapped, shouting out "The King of Conquerors has questioned! Answer, Heroic Spirits!" Laughing at his Master's serious tone, Iskander placed a hand on her shoulder, saying "Calm down; I appreciate the effort and enthusiasm you're putting into this, but let them think about it on their own. And to be honest, that little act of yours just now would never have worked in any theatrical presentation."

Sakura looked at Iskander, saying in protest "Hey, I did my best!"

"Yes, I know; but acting doesn't exactly seem to be your strong point. Be honest about yourself, play to your strengths, and let your allies cover for your weaknesses. Let that be my first lesson to you, my young friend."

"…yes, I understand, Iskander."

Before either could say anymore, Lancer laughed, and said with a note of respect "You've got guts I'll give you that much, Rider. Revealing your true identity, and giving such an insane proclamation. To be honest, given your reputation, I'm quite tempted to accept your offer, but unfortunately my Master will have to make that decision for me. And it's quite unlikely she'll be making the decision you want her to make."

Smiling somewhat sadly, Iskander replied "Well, that is a shame."

"What do we do, Rin?" Archer asked his Master, his blades held in a relaxed yet ready manner. Rin, however, was breaking out in a cold sweat, and was smiling in a somewhat sickly manner. "_This isn't funny at all; it's bad enough that I have to fight my own sister, but to think she summoned such a powerful Servant: the King of Conquerors, Alexander the Great!_"

Archer's thoughts weren't that dissimilar from his Master's either; the Rider he knew was definitely not this grandiose titan of history and the Sakura of this timeline sported none of the indications of the result of the Matou's horrific alterations. This was the wrong timeline, and it didn't please him at all.

At that moment, a figure hidden in the shadows smirked and said "Do it, Assassin!" In response, a masked figure in black seemingly _melted _out of the shadows and powerfully flung four poisoned blades with impressive speed and accuracy towards Sakura's back; to Assassin's surprise, Iskander smoothly drew his sword and deflected all the thrown blades before they could cause any damage. Even as Sakura whirled with a look of alarm, Iskander stepped down from his chariot, and told her "Leave this to me Sakura; I'll leave his Master to you."

Even as Iskander advanced on Assassin (who had drawn a pair of wicked, gleaming swords), Lancer swung his lance back into ready position, looked at Archer and said "Shall we get started on Act Two, Archer?"

"Yes, let's." he grimly replied, and immediately clashed with Lancer as the two Servants met in deadly combat yet again. Rin looked to where her sister was standing on her Servant's chariot, eyes closed in concentration. "_Sakura…_" she thought to herself, then shaking her head and despite her sisterly instincts, decided to leave her sister's fight alone.

Elsewhere, Assassin crossed swords with Iskander, saying "Very impressive, blocking my strikes like that."

"Don't underestimate me; know that the Persians darkened the skies with their arrows, and that I have survived more assassination attempts than I care to remember. I might have been able to find a place for you in my armies, but considering you just tried to kill my Master, I'm guessing you won't accept my offer?"

"Naturally not; my blades already belong to another."

"I see…" With that, Iskander drove himself fully into the offensive, surprising Assassin. Meanwhile, Sakura opened her eyes and crushed a silver cylinder in one hand; turning, she stretched out her right arm and hand, palm crackling with energy outwards, and her legs braced against the chariot floor. "Blue Dragon's Fire!" she shouted, firing off a brilliant blue blast of energy that exploded some distance away, collapsing a barrier and exposing a smirking Shinji Matou.

"Very impressive, Tohsaka-san; your abilities are quite commendable." He remarked affably, semi-coherent tendrils of black energy swirling around his figure. Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously, even as she pulled a pair of black, rectangular devices out of a pocket and slid them over her hands. Pulling out and activating a de Bergerac-pattern Seele Schneider, she commented in an off-hand fashion "I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, Matou scum."

Blurring, she used Hirenkyaku to close the distance, appearing above and before Shinji, her blade of light poised to deliver the killing blow. "Your head is mine!" she shouted…as Shinji's tendrils lashed out with impossible speed, grabbing her limbs and wrapping around her neck. "Sakura!" Rin shouted in alarm as Shinji laughed and said "No, _you_ are mine."

Shinji's look of triumph vanished, however, when 'Sakura' suddenly shattered like glass. "What the…" he began to say, when metallic cables shot out and wrapped themselves around his arms. Looking over a shoulder, he saw Sakura standing behind him, the metallic cables protruding from the black devices on her hands. With a triumphant smirk, she activated the devices…causing Shinji to cry out in agony as thousands of volts of electricity flowed through him. Sakura grimaced, glancing at the small indicator behind one of the devices, showing the completion rate of the scanning of Shinji's body. At seventy-four per cent, Shinji finally pulled himself together, lashing out and cutting the cables; with one smooth motion, Sakura ejected the devices keeping only the memory block on her left hand, and used Hirenkyaku to get to a safe distance as she materialized her bow and fired off a pair of Holy Arrows.

Shinji quickly erected a shield, to no effect; the first arrow shattered it and itself like glass, with the second arrow following through and punching through Shinji's belly to protrude several inches behind him. Shinji staggered back, his darkness fading away as his magic circuits were disrupted by the Holy Arrow through his torso. "Master!" Assassin said in concern, pushing Iskander back and leaping to his Master's side; shattering the arrow with a single swing, he leapt to attack Sakura. Even as Sakura prepared to fire another arrow, Iskander forced Assassin to abort his attack by attacking him from the side. "Did you forget, Assassin? Your opponent…is me!"

As Iskander and Assassin continued to cross blades, Sakura de-materialized her bow, and drew her sword yet again. Noting the resurging darkness and rapidly closing wound in Shinji's belly, she whispered to herself "High-speed regeneration…what a dangerous ability. Time to use _that _I think." Smirking, she blurred…creating at least half a hundred clones standing on thin air in a spiral formation over Shinji.

"Clones?" he said in surprise. As the clones charged in for the attack, he snarled in animalistic fury, lashing out with waves of darkness that overwhelmed the attackers…but Sakura herself was nowhere to be seen. "Where are you, you Tohsaka whore?" he spat out.

Behind him, hidden in the trees, Sakura knelt on the ground and opened the metal case she had brought with her. While Shinji had been focused on the clones, she had gone back to the chariot, grabbed the case, and hidden herself among the trees. Pulling out a double-barrelled missile launcher, she flipped the safety and activated the launch mechanism. "Try this on for size, trash." She said contemptuously as she shouldered the weapon and aimed it at the raving and ranting Shinji. After a few moments, the targeting system locked in and Sakura pulled the trigger; hearing a whooshing sound behind him, Shinji turned and was caught off-guard by the sight of an anti-tank missile flying right at him.

The explosion shook the school grounds, forcing everyone present to brace themselves against the shock wave which shattered several windows in the surrounding buildings. Even as the launch mechanism cycled the spent first barrel out of launch position and the second barrel into launch position, Sakura used Hirenkyaku to jump onto the roof of the school, from where she looked down on where Shinji was standing. What she saw caused her eyes to widen in horror: pulped flesh and shattered bone were pulling themselves back together, darkness coalescing and twisting to remake Shinji as he was before his 'demise'. Laughing grimly, she softly said to herself "What a monster…high-speed regeneration is one thing, but this is something else. Is there no limit to your insanity, Zouken Matou? I am now doubly thankful to God for the Ishida coming to this city."

Shaking her head, she shouldered and aimed the heavy weapon as she spat out "Disappear from this world, filthy thing!" She fired, the missile arcing down with deadly purpose…only to explode harmlessly (for Shinji at least) on a shield of darkness. Cackling insanely despite parts of his head and torso remaining incomplete, Shinji gloated out "Don't think the same trick will work more than once on me, Tohsaka! And now…it's _my _turn." Gathering darkness swirled and twisted, as Shinji finally finished putting himself back together…but even as he prepared to counterattack, his right arm exploded in a shower of blood, flesh, and bone. "An overload?" Sakura said in surprise, as Shinji fell to his knees clutching his right shoulder. "A-Assassin!" he cried out. "We're withdrawing." As he said this, darkness wrapped around him and took him to safety; after a few more strokes, Assassin de-materialized as well.

"That was too close." Sakura sighed in relief, slumping in relief against the railing. While she was confident in her abilities, she had no desire to fight an opponent with so many variables like Shinji Matou. "Yes, it was. Too bad you let your guard down, Quincy." A voice said, as Bazett appeared behind her from out of nowhere.

"Oh no…" Sakura said in alarm, her eyes widening with fear at the sight of the cold-eyed Enforcer's dagger closing in on her neck for the kill…when with a flash of silver light, a Holy Arrow flew past Sakura and striking Bazett through the chest, pinned her against the roof blockhouse. Sakura didn't waste any time; as soon as she was in the clear, she used Hirenkyaku to escape behind Iskander as he returned to his chariot.

"Master!" Lancer shouted; pushing Archer back, he leapt up to the roof and shattered the arrow with a single blow. As she fell to her knees, Bazett used a rune to temporarily stem the bleeding and assess her injuries; the result was nothing good – her left lung had been ruptured. "Lancer…get us out of here." She rasped out; grabbing her arm, he and Bazett retreated to safety.

"Uryuu; what took you so long?" Sakura asked as her fiancé arrived, his bow still in hand. "Sorry, but I had to make sure that our little light show earlier didn't attract attention."

"In any case, nice timing, Uryuu." Sakura and company now turned to face Archer and his Master. After a moment, Rin turned and said "Let's go, Archer. We're leaving."

"Nee-san, wait!" Sakura shouted, causing to stop and look over her shoulder. With a sad look on her face, Sakura continued "Won't you accept Iskander's offer? We can work together as sisters, and change this world for the better under his leadership. Both Iskander and the Quincy accept any and all who would fight for the cause…so please, won't you accept our offer?"

"Sakura…" Rin said sadly, before turning away and saying "…I'm sorry, but I can't. As Tohsaka's heiress, and Supervisor of the Mages Association here in Fuyuki City, I cannot and will not abandon my duty. We are Masters, you and I…unfortunate though it is, our destinies are set against each other it would seem."

"Nee-san…" Sakura said mournfully, her face marked with sorrow and her eyes tearing at her sister's inability to see beyond the limits of their legacy. Noticing his Master's distress, Iskander placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and said "Tohsaka…I will not accept this refusal just yet. Think about this matter further, and consider your own sister's feelings. Until then, I will await your response."

Rin was silent for a moment, then said "Archer, let's go." Grabbing one of his Master's arms, Archer took Rin out of the school grounds. "Thank you, Iskander." Uryuu told the King of Conquerors as he comfortingly embraced Sakura. "No need to thank me; as I told Sakura earlier, allies, no, _friends_ cover for one another's weaknesses." He responded with a good-natured smile. Smiling despite herself and wiping the tears from her eyes, Sakura echoed Uryuu and said "Yes, you're right…thanks, Iskander."

"Now then, shall we call it a night?" Iskander asked, as he drove the chariot back into the skies and flew in the direction of the Ishida Manor.

"Yes, I suppose so…" began Sakura when Uryuu interrupted with "No, let's go the Emiya Manor first." With a look of surprise on her face, Sakura asked "Whatever for?"

"Didn't you notice Shiro Emiya running off earlier?"

"Oh, old man Kiritsugu's son; don't tell me he was doing chores for other people again…"

"Well, he is that kind of person."

"You don't seem to have that high an opinion of this Shiro Emiya, do you, Sakura?" put in Iskander. Shrugging, she said "It's not that I don't like him; he's solid, reliable, and hardworking, but simply put…he's boring. Not to mention he's got one hell of a martyr complex."

This caused Iskander to laugh and Uryuu to smile despite himself. "Well, I suppose we should go see if he's alright or not; but let's keep our guard up. There might be other Servants up and about, and he does have _that_ in him."

"Quite right…" Uryuu said, before directing Iskander to a new course. "…the Emiya Manor should be that way, Iskander."

"Alright…"

* * *

A/N

Ahem, yes, overall Sakura's skills are as follows. They lean to the higher end for Quincy techniques, and to the lower end for archery (but she outclasses all but the most skilled hobbyists). She makes up for the latter with her proficiency in technology though. Swordsmanship-wise, her skills are rather average, but in terms of speed...she's master level, as shown by her ability to create and use clones.

Halo players will probably recognize Sakura's heavy weapon for what it was. For those who did not…it's the M41 SSR.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Chapter 4: The Journey Begins

The doors of the church opened, and Caren walked out while putting on a cloak to shield herself from Fuyuki City's cold night. Closing the doors behind her, she walked away from her church to deal with the business of being the Overseer of the Fifth Holy Grail War; however, she had only taken a few steps before she stopped and looked around her. "Show yourself, gluttonous one." She said with her usual unsettling tone and expression.

After a moment of empty silence, a voice answered "Honestly, youngsters these days; they just have no respect for their elders."

"Cliché though this would seem, you should know that respect must be earned."

"Is that so now? Perhaps I ought to take the time to educate you on…'proper' behaviour; though I wonder if you have the tenacity to survive my tutelage."

"By all means, kill me if you wish to do so. I have no chance of defeating you on my own, though I would ask that you consider the consequences of such a rash act."

In the shadows, Zouken Matou grimaced; when that Quincy doctor had executed Kirei Kotomine and his rogue Servant seven years ago, Zouken had hoped that his successor as Overseer would prove more malleable and open to his influence. This woman though, was no less infuriating than her predecessor; so much so that he could even say they were almost the same person.

"Patience, Holy Priestess, patience; for now, both of us have other matters to attend to. Farewell…" he said at last, forcing a tone of amusement into his voice. After a moment, his presence vanished, and Caren resumed her walk into the night.

* * *

Shiro ran into his house and closed the door behind him in a rush; as he caught his breath with his hands on his knees, he heard the sound of running footsteps approaching from in front of him. "Fuji-nee?" he asked somewhat redundantly as his pregnant stepmother (though he would never stop thinking of her as an elder sister) ran up to him.

"Where were you all this time? Wait; don't tell me…you were doing someone else's chores again, weren't you?" Taiga Emiya snapped out as she came within earshot, though it didn't stop her from putting a hand on his back in concern at his winded condition. "What happened? Did you run all the way home? Did you get into a fight or something?" she asked in concern.

Before Shiro could reply, a piercing pain shot through his right hand and arm, forcing him to grab his right wrist in surprise. Before Taiga's astonished eyes, a dark red tattoo appeared on his hand. "W-w-what the hell?" she stammered out as Kiritsugu Emiya walked into the entrance corridor.

"Is something wrong?" he asked as he approached; in response, Taiga snapped out "Kiritsugu; come and take a look at this! Something really weird just appeared on Shiro's hand!" Filled with foreboding, he took a look and was shocked to see the tattoo on Shiro's hand.

"Command spells…" he whispered with a weary note of resignation in his voice. "I had hoped that perhaps, just perhaps, somehow history wouldn't repeat itself…"

"Kiritsugu, what do mean by that? What do you mean history would repeat itself? And what are command spells?" Taiga asked, grabbing her husband's arms. As the pain in his arm reached a crescendo, Shiro found himself being drawn to the storage building in the back of the Emiya Estate. "Shiro; where are you going?" she shouted after him as he ran off; after a moment, she and Kiritsugu followed, the latter telling the former to be careful given her current state.

Shiro ignored the shouts and footsteps behind him, running through the house and garden to the storage building in the back. As he threw the doors open, his command spells flared brilliantly as a magic circle inscribed on the floor of the building erupted with light, a figure materializing in the centre, quickly revealing herself to be a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and green eyes in an armoured, blue and white dress. "Servant Sabre; here are I stand by your summons." She said quietly as the light and pain faded away. "Tell me, are you my Master?"

Before Shiro could reply, stunned to silence by the sheer beauty of the woman standing in front of him, she looked over his shoulder and ran past him. "Hey wait…" he began to say when he felt something approach. Following Sabre, he was blown off his feet as lightning struck the ground between the storage building and the house; Sabre had braced herself beforehand however, quickly shifting to the offensive, she leaped into the air and swung her invisible sword downwards in a powerful blow against the newly-arrived and charioted Servant before her.

Iskander however, was just as experienced (if not more so) than his adversary; even as Sabre launched her attack, he had released the reins and drawn his sword, blocking Sabre's strike and pushing her away – the displaced air forcing Sakura and Uryuu to brace themselves behind him. The grim expression on his face disappeared as he caught sight of his opponent, to be replaced by a look of recognition and his usual, friendly expression. "Well, if that isn't a familiar face! To think that we would meet again, King of Knights! Though you probably don't remember me, do you?"

To his surprise, Sabre shook her head and replied "No, I remember you quite well, Maharajah, Lord of War, Iskander, King of Conquerors." Shifting to a defensive stance before the surprised Iskander, she asked him "What is your business here, King of Conquerors?"

Sheathing his sword and raising his hands palm outwards in a conciliatory manner, Iskander was about to say something when Kiritsugu and Taiga came out of the house, causing him and his companions to turn and look at the people behind them. "Kiritsugu-san, Taiga-sensei…uh, we can explain?" Sakura said somewhat uncertainly with a sickly smile.

"Tohsaka-san, Ishida-san, what…" Taiga broke off as she saw her husband looking at the blonde swordswoman with a look of shocked recognition on his face. "Sabre…" he whispered in disbelief. Sabre, for her part, narrowed her eyes and said her former Master's name with an ominous tone in her voice "Kiritsugu…Emiya…"

* * *

"Why didn't tell me all about this?" Taiga asked with a note of anger in her voice, the question directed at her husband. All of them – Iskander, Sakura, Uryuu, Sabre (who had removed her armour), Shiro, Taiga, and Kiritsugu – were sitting around the living room table. Noting the rather tense atmosphere, Sakura and Uryuu glanced at each other from the corners of their eyes, but said nothing. Iskander and Sabre were both silent, while Shiro was anxiously looking for a chance to mediate between his stepparents.

"Well, that's because…" Kiritsugu began to say when Taiga interrupted angrily with "You couldn't trust me? Is that it? Is that why you hid all this from me?"

"Of course not!" Kiritsugu angrily responded, slamming a hand down on the table. "I just… I just didn't want to be pulled back into that world again...that's why I didn't tell you. That's why I only taught Shiro the basics and discouraged him from using magecraft. And, I'm not even a mage anymore."

"What do you mean by that last part?" Taiga asked, the bite taken out of her anger by the weariness and regret in Kiritsugu's voice. Sighing, Kiritsugu explained "At the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War, I was cursed with a curse that would have led to my eventual death. And I would have died, if Dr Ishida hadn't performed that operation on me seven years ago. But while he succeeded in removing the curse and repairing the damage, it also took away all my abilities in magecraft. I'm now nothing more than an ordinary Human…for better or for worse."

"Fuji-nee…" Shiro began. "...it's not that we wanted to deceive you, but we simply didn't want you to get involved in this. And it's not like I deliberately summoned Sabre…it just…um, it just happened?"

Nodding, Sakura backed Shiro up and said "He's correct. From our assessment of the situation and of his character, Shiro Emiya does not possess the skills to summon a Servant. It was pure accident that he summoned a Servant; although in any case, it was inevitable, given that he was bound to summon one sooner or later having been chosen as a Master."

"And then what? What will you do now, Shiro Emiya? What will you do in this Holy Grail War?" Sabre asked, her eyes burning with dangerous intensity, causing everyone else at the table to tense up…with the exception of Iskander, who sighed and said "That's a question you should ask your Master in private, Sabre. In any case, we only came here because Sakura and Uryuu here spotted him running away after having seen a battle between Lancer and Archer, and were concerned about his safety. Now that we've done that…"

Iskander paused, then beaming, asked her "...won't you accept my past offer? Give up this foolish and meaningless pursuit of yours, embrace your past, and join my army; we can achieve so much if we work together, you know."

"I've told you didn't I? I cannot and will not reduce myself to the level of a mere retainer. Nor will I abandon this 'meaningless' pursuit as you call it."

"…oh well, I suppose negotiations have failed yet again. Still, I won't accept this as the end. I hope you reconsider in the future. Now then…" Standing up, Iskander turned to leave, saying to his companions "…come on you two, we're leaving." After a moment of astonished silence, Sakura and Uryuu stood up hastily, and bowing in thanks and farewell, turned to leave; however, as Sakura began to walk away, Kiritsugu said to her "Tohsaka-san…don't let this war be a repeat of the previous one. Please…"

"…don't worry, Kiritsugu-san. I'm not my father, and I'm certainly not a mage; and that's the best guarantee you'll be getting from me." She replied softly and with a resolute expression on her face, before she walked off to join Uryuu and Iskander.

* * *

As the chariot flew across the sky back towards the Ishida Estate, Sakura spoke up and said "Iskander…perhaps it's time we told you of our real goals."

"Is this really the time?" Uryuu asked with a note of concern in his voice.

"We need him to trust us for the plan to work; and for that, he needs to know." Turning back to Iskander, who been listening to their short exchange behind him, Sakura said "Iskander…unlike the other Masters, our, no, _my _objective in this war is to oversee the Holy Grail's destruction."

Startled, Iskander lost control of the chariot for a moment, causing his two companions to scramble for support before the chariot righted itself. "W-what was that? Destroy the Holy Grail?" he asked in astonished surprise over his shoulder.

"We are not mages, Iskander; we are Quincy. You could think of as anti-mages." Uryuu explained. "Unlike mages, who use the 'energy within', we use the energy 'without'; our Quincy crosses draw in reishi from the environment and converts it to energy, allowing us to perform our own variations of magecraft. Also, unlike mages, we do not merely look to the past, remembering history and repeating traditions; we look to the future, thinking of the impossible and coming up with ways to make it real – and we have done and still do that with the power of science. For two hundred years, we have opened doors and cleared paths for Humanity from Earth to the stars, but…"

"…but despite our best efforts, we have been unable to unite our kind. Humanity remains scattered and divided." Sakura finished as Uryuu trailed off. Pausing, she waited for Iskander to say something, but he was silent, waiting for her to continue. "While the Quincy had intended to destroy the Holy Grail in this Fifth Holy Grail War, when I was chosen to be a Master I, and later on the ruling council as well, saw the chance to bring you – someone we knew could bring us together - into this time and age to unite and lead Humanity to the stars and beyond if need be."

"The stars…and beyond…" Iskander said softly. Behind him, Sakura and Uryuu looked worriedly at each other…when out of nowhere, Iskander laughed long and loudly before looking over a shoulder and saying enthusiastically "I like it! At first I thought you'd forgotten that without the power of the Holy Grail I wouldn't be able to remain here, but I figured you would have planned for that as well. I like how you people think: to the stars and then beyond, my friends!"

Brightening up, Sakura asked "Then, you will lead us?"

"Of course; how could I possible give up a chance to go so much further than in life? But I must ask though…will the Quincy will follow me?"

"Naturally."

"Alright then…but I'd like to know more about you 'Quincy'. And I suppose you wouldn't mind if I try and recruit the other Servants, won't you?"

"If you can bring them under our banner, then we have no objections. As for us Quincy…Uryuu should be able to tell you more about us."

Looking at the smirking Sakura with an irritated look, Uryuu sighed and began to describe the Quincy's history, methods, and philosophy to their new ally. And although he didn't let it show, deep down, he was just as glad as Sakura that the King of Conquerors had agreed to join their cause. "_Yes, this is a victory not just for us or the Quincy, but for all of Humanity._"

* * *

"Emiya Shiro, answer me: how do you intend to involve yourself in this Holy Grail War?" Sabre sternly demanded as they sat together in his room. Despite his irritation at the tone of her voice, Sabre found himself being attracted and somewhat intrigued by this beautiful girl. That 'King of Conquerors' hanging around with Ishida and the younger Tohsaka had called her the 'King of Knights'; while Shiro had known of the Holy Grail Wars from his stepfather, and had seen his involvement in it (despite Kiritsugu's insistence that Shiro avoid entering the world of mages) as a chance to finally become a 'Hero of Justice', he had never expected to do so with such a beautiful girl.

Mentally shaking himself of such thoughts, reminding himself that he had to remain faithful to his girlfriend (though they hadn't actually gone public about their relationship yet), he answered "To be honest, I have no actual interest in the Holy Grail. What I want to do is to simply make sure no one who could misuse its power gets their hands on it, and to ensure that this war doesn't drag in the innocent. That's all there is to it."

After a few moments, Sabre sighed and said "I see; very well, I will accept you as my Master. But know I have no intention of holding back in this war." Standing up, she moved to leave and go to her room, but before she left, she paused and said "I just hope that you will not betray me like your father did." Finally leaving, Shiro just stared back at where she had stood and wondered what she meant by that last comment.

* * *

"You seem perturbed by something." Archer commented.

"Of course I am; how could I not be, fighting my own sister and her Servant. Not to mention said Servant is an absolutely first class Servant whose true identity is no liability to him or his and his Master's cause. This is the worst possible situation…_not to mention I acted like how father would have._" Sighing, she opened a container she had pulled out of the fridge soon after they had returned and taken with her to the library…revealing its contents to be fresh strawberries.

"Strawberries?" Archer asked with a raised eyebrow; this was not something he remembered Rin would be eating.

"Yeah, strange though it may seem, I've wanted to eat strawberries for a while now." Rin answered as she ate them absent-mindedly. "_Why I want to eat them is of no concern to you. I have to tell that guy soon too; oh man, Sakura might just kill him when she finds out._"

* * *

"Uryuu, would you mind taking this to the armoury for me?" Sakura asked sweetly, holding out the case holding her spent missile launcher. "I need to go upload the data about Shinji Matou to Yggdrasil's terminal."

"Sure thing." Uryuu replied taking the case, and Sakura walked off to the library followed by Iskander.

"Yggdrasil; what's that?" Iskander asked curiously.

"It's the quantum operating system used by us Quincy to provide backup for our worldwide operations as well as to assist in the implementation of the Infinity Protocol. The core terminal is located at Quincy general headquarters, Asgard, but we have a terminal here."

Anything Iskander was going to say was lost as they entered the library; something of a scholar himself, Iskander's heart leapt as he entered the room lined with floor to ceiling shelves filled with books. "Magnificent…" he breathed in awe. Smiling despite herself, Sakura said "Feel free to browse through our collection…it's quite small actually, but we do have a modest collection of written material ranging from history, science, philosophy, and so on…" Struck by a thought, she walked to a shelf and after perusing it, returned with a book: the Iliad.

"I've heard this is your favourite work." She said, holding out the book.

"It is indeed; it's good to see that the works of my time are still remembered in this time and age. Thank you, Sakura." Iskander said, taking the offered book and immediately seated himself nearby and began to read. Sakura meanwhile walked to a nearby alcove, opened a wall compartment, and after passing the security checks (a retinal scan, a voice scan, and a hand-print scan), inserted the memory card holding the newly-acquired information on Shinji Matou. Walking out of the library, she politely asked "I take it you'd rather spend the night here? There are guest rooms on the upper floor you know."

"It's alright; I want to read up on your world's history, and besides…it's been a while since I've read the Iliad."

"Alright then; I'll be taking a shower before going to bed, so if you need anything, ask Uryuu."

* * *

Uryuu was fixing up his bed when a series of knocks came from his door. "Yes?" he queried politely. The door opened to reveal Sakura in her nightclothes, holding a pillow tightly to herself. "Don't get the wrong idea…" she began, blushing slightly and looking away. "…I'm not in the mood tonight, but it's just that…"

"Shinji…is that it?" Uryuu responded with a look of understanding, and Sakura nodded, saying "It was indirect contact, but still…"

"It's alright; you can sleep here tonight if you want."

Prompted, Sakura walked into Uryuu's room, closing the door behind her, and laid down on the bed. After a few moments, Uryuu followed, and holding her close, stroked her hair until her breathing slowed and she fell asleep. Uryuu remained awake, reminiscing about a past incident in elementary school; at the time, their engagement had yet to be publicly revealed, but it was clear there was something between them. Shinji had however sought to make Sakura one of his fangirls with disastrous results; Sakura had refused his advances, revealing a seemingly instinctive revulsion and hatred for the Matou. When Shinji insisted and grabbed an arm, she had reacted violently, and would have used a combat technique right then and there had Rin not restrained her. Uryuu had beaten Shinji to a pulp afterwards, exposing his engagement with Sakura and effectively making her off-limits to others…but it was clear from that time and several other, less violent incidents that Sakura and Shinji were anathema to one another.

"_Shinji Matou…if you ever try to hurt or corrupt Sakura, I won't show you any mercy. I'll burn you to ashes, mind, body, and soul…_"

* * *

A/N

Yes, Sakura and Uryuu have done _it_ in the past. Is it surprising? Not really; they're both healthy young people, so it's quite natural, though unlike canon, everything is consensual (anyone who thinks otherwise should rot).

As for who's Shiro's girlfriend, and what Rin wants to say to someone (not to mention why she's eating strawberries), well, that's my secret (for now at least). Feel free to guess though…


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Chapter 5: Dark Revelations

Sakura stirred fitfully, squinting at the morning light peeking through the curtains; by coincidence, a thin ray of sunlight was poking through a gap and was shining on her eyes. Turning the other way, she pulled the covers over herself and tried to get some more sleep…opening her eyes for a moment, she caught sight of the digital clock on the bedside table on the other side of the bed.

Uryuu looked up from where he was cooking breakfast in the kitchen as he heard a shrill shriek from upstairs. "Sakura; she's awake?" he said to himself, sighing and bracing himself for her arrival. Iskander – who was playing video games in the living room – paused momentarily at the sound of his Master's shriek; then went back to his game – he didn't sense any danger, so he assumed it was something personal and not something he needed to get involved in. He didn't even register Sakura running down the stairs in her nightclothes and rushing to the kitchen.

"Uryuu!" Sakura said angrily and with a note of outrage as she burst into the kitchen. "Do you realize what time it is? Why didn't you wake me up? We can't just skip…" she paused her tirade as her stomach rumbled. Laughing at the sound, Uryuu said "No school today, Sakura. As for why…Caren left a message on the phone."

"I-is that so?" Sakura stammered out in response, somewhat embarrassed at her rash assumptions that morning. Yawning and scratching her head, she left the kitchen and went into the living area, absent-mindedly noting Iskander enjoying himself with her video game collection. "Good morning, Iskander." She said politely.

"Good morning, Sakura." The man responded, his attention still focused on the game. Walking to the phone, she pushed a button on the message machine beside it and played Caren's message. "Ishida-san, Tohsaka-san, there's no need for you to go to school tomorrow." It began. "I've managed to clean up anything that could be traced to you, though the damages are beyond my abilities. Please try to be less destructive in the future. And yes, I mean _you_, Tohsaka-san."

Biting back her irritation, she said to no one in particular "I think I'll go take a bath."

* * *

"Hello…yes, I know there's no school today…no, sorry but I've got some housework to handle given Fuji-nee's current state…yeah, okay that sounds good…see you later then." Shiro said, putting the phone down. Turning, he was caught off-guard and taken aback by a smirking Taiga, who had apparently been listening in on his short conversation.

"So, was that the mysterious girlfriend I've been hearing about in school?"

"…what exactly were you hearing?" Shiro asked with a sinking feeling as they walked backed to the dining room where the residents of the Emiya Manor were enjoying a late breakfast.

"Not much really." Taiga answered with a shrug. "The 'school doormat' has a girlfriend and things like that." Noting Shiro's slightly offended expression, she smiled, put an arm around his shoulders, and said "Cheer up, Shiro! Just because they call you that and I chide you for what you do doesn't mean you should force yourself to change. As long as you can live with yourself and you're happy with being who you are, there's nothing wrong with following your own path in life. The fact that someone likes you proves that, doesn't it?"

"Thanks Fuji-nee. Strangely enough, that makes sense…kind of."

"So, who was on the phone?" Kiritsugu asked as Shiro and Taiga entered the dining room. Although there was still an air of strained politeness and tension between Sabre and Kiritsugu, the two had thus far been civil with another.

"Oh, just Shiro's girlfriend." Taiga said mischievously, ignoring the dark look levelled at her by Shiro. "And apparently, they're going on a date later on."

"Who is she?" Kiritsugu asked curiously, the question directed at Shiro, who blushed and scratched his head before answering "Well…actually, we'd like to keep our relationship quiet for now, so…I hope you guys understand if I don't say who she is."

"Something doesn't feel right about this." Sabre said from where she was eating a slice of buttered toast. Nodding in agreement, Taiga said "I agree; I certainly hope you aren't dating someone troublesome. Or someone too old or too young for you."

"W-w-what are you saying?" Shiro spluttered indignantly. "Yes, she's somewhat rude, impatient, and mischievous, but she has her caring side too, and she has certain issues…that well…" he trailed off, looking away from the others. Sabre and Taiga were in shock; Shiro really did seem to care for this person. After a moment, Kiritsugu nodded and said "Well, it seems you've found someone for yourself, Shiro. In any case, it's your choice." Smiling, he said "Have fun on your date later on."

"Thanks dad." Shiro said, thankful that someone there understood.

"So…" Sabre began to say as she prepared another slice of toast for herself "…what's a date?"

* * *

"Now then, shall we begin our strategy meeting?" Sakura asked as she, Uryuu, and Iskander entered the library.

"Sure, why not? That's what you said we should do after breakfast, didn't you?" Iskander replied.

"Quite right." Uryuu said, closing the doors behind them. Pulling out a remote, he pushed several buttons; in response, the library's floor to ceiling windows darkened as holo-screens built into the frames activated, shutting out the sunlight and displaying information about the world – political, economic, military, etc. – in green and white light. More holo-screens activated in front of the floor to ceiling shelves, displaying similar information. An aperture opened in the middle of the floor, and another holo-projector activated, this time displaying an image of the globe in the middle of the room.

Uryuu gave a control tablet to Sakura and keeping one for himself, typed in a few commands causing the central projection to change from that of a globe and into an image of Assassin's Master. As Sakura's eyes went flat, Uryuu said "To begin with, let's start with Shinji Matou. To start with, Shinji is not a second iteration of the Byakuya-pattern pseudo-magi as we initially thought him to be."

"Byakuya-pattern?" Iskander queried; in response, Sakura typed a command and the central projection changed yet again, this time displaying an image of Shinji's father, Byakuya. "Oh, _him_; yes, I remember this guy. As I recall he was the Master of the Berserker from the previous war, and a madman at that."

Nodding, Sakura continued and said "As a result of the lack of an individual with Thamauturgical potential in the previous war, Zouken Matou modified Byakuya Matou by implanting magic circuits taken from corpses of the Nanaya Clan, allowing him to become the Matou Master in the previous war."

Typing in new commands, Uryuu displayed images in the central projection obtained by Valkyries investigating the aftermath of the Nanaya Massacre. "Ten years ago, shortly before the beginning of the Fourth Holy Grail War, the Tohno Clan and its branches – all half-demon families – slaughtered the feared demon hunters of the Nanaya Clan, with the sole exception of the young son of the clan head, who was instead adopted into the Tohno. Why they chose to do so is unclear, but the Council of Twelve decided that the situation could not be allowed to stand, as it would shift the balance of power away from us Humans and our allies, to our enemies and/or potential enemies."

"As such, Valkyrie Special Operations were mobilized." Sakura continued, displaying personal summaries of the members of the Tohno – all of whom were marked as executed. "Originally, three members of the Tohno were meant to be spared: Shiki Tohno, the eldest son of Makihisa Tohno and head of the Tohno Clan, his sister, Akiha Tohno, and Shiki Nanaya-Tohno, the adopted survivor of the Nanaya. However, the elder Shiki succumbed to his demonic blood during operations and was executed as a result. The two survivors had their memories altered and currently live together under discreet surveillance. As a side note, there are indications of a romantic relationship between the two, though detailed investigation of the matter has been deferred for courtesy's sake."

"The council hopes that the two will have a relationship in order to dilute the Nanaya and the Tohno bloodline. What matters to us, however, is that Zouken was somehow able to obtain magic circuits from dead members of the Nanaya, cobble them together, and implant them into Byakuya Matou."

"It gave him enormous power…" Uryuu said, displaying a detailed analysis of the monster. "…allowing him to not only summon and control Berserker, but also making him a fearsome opponent in his own right. Combined with his unstable psychology and drunken nature, he was able to overpower Kiritsugu Emiya towards the end of the previous war; ironically, this would also lead to his demise, as the unnatural and imperfect nature of his modifications put a huge strain on the Nanaya circuitry."

"How did he die?" Iskander asked; he remembered the man, recalling his monstrous strength and finding it all too plausible that in the end it was only his own – and apparently stolen - power that finally did him in.

"He burned like a torch." Sakura said with relish. "The Nanaya circuitry couldn't handle the strain, leading to an energy overload that literally immolated his soul."

"However…" Uryu said, returning the central projection back to Shinji Matou. "…while Shinji also appears to make use of stolen and implanted magic circuits of unknown origin – albeit the implantation process has clearly been refined in the past ten years – his modifications are completely different in nature. He's apparently been rebuilt to store and handle a vast amount of energy. While we have insufficient information for a complete conclusion, Yggdrasil predicts that Shinji is actually an attempt by Zouken Matou to create his own Lesser Holy Grail."

"Lesser Holy Grail?" Iskander asked.

"The Holy Grail system has two parts: the lesser and the greater. The former is actually a vessel in which the energies of the fallen Servants are stored and then fed into the latter at the conclusion of the war." Uryuu explained. "Six Servants are needed to activate the latter's wish granting function, but the three founding families – Tohsaka, Matou, and von Einzbern – have always intended to sacrifice all seven Servants to open a portal to Akasha, the sum and product of all existence."

"Regardless…" Sakura broke in with a cough. "…Zouken Matou's action is treachery of the highest form. The von Einzbern will be enraged to say the least, since they are traditionally the ones behind the creation of the vessel that will serve as the Lesser Holy Grail."

"However, Yggdrasil has indicated the possibility that Shinji Matou is already a Lesser Holy Grail." Uryuu said, surprising Sakura.

"What?"

"Yes; it's the most probable explanation as to how Shinji Matou was able to rebuild himself despite being blown to bits. Most likely, Zouken Matou recovered fragments of the destroyed Holy Grail from the previous war, and implanted them into Shinji Matou, granting him limited immortality. Yggdrasil has already tentatively reclassified Shinji Matou as a Matou-series Artificial Human."

"If so, then according to the data, he's incredibly crude, compared to the von Einzbern's Justeaze-series."

"Even so, don't underestimate him, you two; especially _you_, Sakura, considering how much you hate him and his family." A voice said from behind them. Turning, they saw a bespectacled man enter the library, unfazed by the glowing screens.

"Dad, you're back." Uryuu said in surprise.

"Welcome home, Ryuuken-san. How was your trip?" Sakura asked; walking up to the trio, he answered "About as well as might be expected." Looking at Iskander, he said "Iskander was it? Somehow, I imagined you to be shorter."

"Shorter?" Sakura and Uryuu said in surprise. Their surprise increased as Iskander laughed good-naturedly and said "Well, that's to be expected. I suppose you read about my experience with Darius III's throne, huh? Darius was a giant of a man, truly one with stature to rule the mighty Persian Empire."

"I see…well, in any case, I am Ryuuken Ishida, Uryuu's father, Sakura's guardian, and her father-in-law in a few years. I suppose you've heard about our reasons for bringing you to this time and age?"

"That's right, and I'm impressed to say the least."

"The council asked me to extend to you an offer; when this war is over, they'd like to offer you a chance to travel the world and learn about it before the plan goes into motion."

"Sounds tempting…but first, let's win this war; one thing at a time, my friend, one thing at a time." With a nod, Sakura and Uryuu continued their report.

* * *

Rin Tohsaka sat on a bench in the park, watching as individuals and couples walked past, and a fountain played in the middle of a clearing before her; as time passed, she began to allow her mind to wander. "_What should I do? Or rather, how do I tell him? I can't believe we made a mistake in the timing…well, it's not like it was unpleasant…but still, no matter what, I won't make the mistake of taking an innocent's life. And somehow, just somehow, I know he won't either. Nor will he just leave me to fend for myself…the problem is, how do I break the news?_"

Her musings on her condition broke off as she heard her boyfriend's voice call to her "Hey, Rin! Sorry I'm late, but I had some things to deal with first." Running up to her, Shiro caught his breath as Rin stood up and said "About time; but you're finally here, and that's what matters. So, shall we get going?" Offering an arm (which Shiro took), the two walked off, Rin saying "I've already bought the movie tickets, so all you have to buy are the snacks. You don't have any problems with that, do you?"

"Of course not..." Shiro replied. "…and didn't I say I'd take care of everything?"

"Oh forget that; you need to work on your martyr complex, you know that? There's nothing wrong with helping people, but you also have to take care of yourself too."

"You know I can't give up on that."

"No, you can't. And I'd think less of you if you did; still it wouldn't hurt to cut back on it a little, wouldn't it?"

"Well, if it's for you, I should be able to make an exception." Shiro said, smiling at Rin, who laughed and placed her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for everything, Shiro." She said softly.

"You don't need to say anything; I understand. If you can't bear your burdens on your own, then I'll carry it with you, and walk beside you on your path in life." Rin didn't say anything; she merely smiled, knowing the sincerity of his words.

* * *

Unknown to the two, Shinji Matou saw them walking out of the park, his anger and insanity feeding one another. "_Emiya…how dare you? The Tohsaka sisters belong to me! I'll make you pay for your impudence…_"

* * *

"So the only Servant left unaccounted for is Berserker. The Matou have Assassin, the Emiya have Sabre, the Tohsaka have Archer, that Enforcer has Lancer, and we have Rider. Caster has sealed himself/herself in Ryuudo Temple, though the Master remains unknown. The von Einzbern are definitely involved, but we have no knowledge which of the two they command: Caster or Berserker. However, all seven Servants are now in play." Sakura said, concluding the report on Masters and Assassins.

"While Assassin will undoubtedly not join our cause, and Lancer will most likely do likewise, I still hope Archer and Sabre reconsider my offer. I'd like to approach Berserker and Caster as well, though the former is probably a foregone conclusion." Iskander said resolutely. Looking at his companions, he continued "I know you have doubts about my decision to continue to attempt to recruit the others to our banner, but know this: a victory achieved without resorting to violence is just as definite as a victory achieved by violence."

"While it's true that we doubt the feasibility of such a plan, we also know that you have done equally infeasible feats in the past. There's nothing to be lost by trying in any case." Ryuuken said reasonably.

"Good; if that's the case, then let's finish this. I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry."

"Perhaps we should just order some Chinese? It's probably faster than actually cooking dinner, considering how many we are." Sakura proposed, and was responded with several nods of agreement. As Ryuuken turned off the holograms and turned on the lights, Sakura and Uryuu left the library, animatedly discussing what to order for dinner. "What do you think of those two?" Ryuuken asked Iskander, who was looking over a collection of history books.

"They complement and match one another; I daresay they make a fine pair."

"Well, they did grow up together."

"An arranged marriage, I take it?"

"That's right. Though given their relationship, it seems to have really worked out. Especially for Sakura; she'd most likely have been abandoned to the Matou otherwise."

"Why?"

"Mage clans prefer to teach only one mage per generation to avoid 'unnecessary' competition. Considering what the Matou are, it would appear moving to this city was a gift from God for her."

"What's so wrong with the Matou anyway?"

"They're as close to monsters as you can possibly get and still remain Human. Sakura instinctively hates them; given that she is a First Generation Quincy, she probably instinctively senses what might have happened to her had she been 'adopted' into their 'family'. Thus far, only Kariya Matou has earned her respect among them."

"Why him?"

"Kariya is an apostate. He abandoned his family in disgust for what they were, and despite being branded a blood traitor, sought to follow his own path. We've met, and he freely gave us a lot of information on his family. We offered to train him as a Quincy, but he refused; apparently he prefers to remain a freelance journalist. That determination to make his destiny as an 'ordinary' Human simply increased my, Sakura's, and our respect for him."

"Same here; any man who can walk his own path without regret or looking back no matter how hard it may seem, is worth my respect."

"By the way, how did you keep your memories of the Fourth Holy Grail War? Servants aren't supposed to remember, right?" Ryuuken asked as he opened a notebook and looked over his schedule of appointments for the week. Shrugging and taking a history book in hand, Iskander replied "Simple: the Army of the King and Waver Velvet."

"You're ultimate Noble Phantasm? But what does that have to do with…" Ryuuken broke off as he realized what Iskander meant. Smiling in approval at Ryuuken's understanding, Iskander said "Any and all who stand by me, and accept my dreams as their own are rewarded by a place by my side forever. My dreams and my legend are theirs as well, their claim to fame and honour, just as their dreams and legends are mine as well. We stood as one, and we shall stand as one, to the end of time and beyond. And I know they too would welcome this chance as well, to march beneath my banners once again, and to meet new heroes to stand by them and to forge new legends in this new world and beyond, among the stars of the great ocean. I too look forward to meeting those heroes…though I've already met quite a few already."

Smiling despite himself, Ryuuken said "It seems we, no, Sakura and Waver were right about you."

* * *

Shiro walked down the street towards home; Rin had seemed troubled by something when he had walked her home, as though she were trying to say something important, but couldn't find right way to say it. "_Oh well, whatever it is, I'm sure she'll find a way to say it when the time comes._"

"Hey there, Emiya; beautiful night, isn't it?" Shinji asked from behind him. Turning, he was caught by surprise when a masked figure sent him flying with a single blow to the chest, breaking two of his ribs. "A-a Servant?" he stammered out, clutching his side in pain.

"Allow me to introduce my Servant, Assassin." Shinji said affably; after a moment, Assassin leapt into the offensive, kicking Shiro in the gut as he stood up, sending him flying yet again. "S-Shinji…why?" Shiro asked.

"Why, you ask? Simple; the Tohsaka sisters are _mine_, Emiya. And you laid your hands on Rin, just as that Ishida has laid his hands on Sakura. Well, I'll kill him once I have the Holy Grail, but you…you're not a stranger, so I'll just 'punish' you."

Shiro's mind erupted in flames as he heard Shinji's words. "Rin…does not…belong…to you…" he snarled, rising to his feet, the silhouette of a golden sword nagging away at his mind. Shaking his head, Shinji said disdainfully "How troublesome…do it, Assassin. But don't kill him; he's a 'friend' after all." In response, Assassin leapt forward to attack again…but jumped backwards as a swarthy giant wielding a massive axe jumped down and placed itself in between Shiro and himself.

"What the…" Shinji began to say but broke off as a child's voice but with an un-childlike note of steely displeasure running through it spoke from the surrounding shadows. "To be honest, I only intended to go to the field after one Servant had fallen, but Matou, you just made a fatal mistake."

"Show yourself!" Shinji angrily demanded, but with an undercurrent of fear: he could not sense the opponent in the shadows despite his power over shadow and darkness.

"The von Einzbern may have decreed the death of the Emiya…" the voice continued to speak, ignoring Shinji's challenge. "…but their lives don't belong to the von Einzbern. They don't belong to the Tohsaka, to the Association, to the shadow-shrouded harbingers of the coming empire, or to anyone else. And they surely don't belong to you or your rotting family. They belong to me! I decide whether they live or die, and no others! Berserker…kill the Matou!"

* * *

A/N

So the Quincy kill the Tohno as retribution for the Nanaya. Does that surprise you? It shouldn't; just because the Quincy are 'good' doesn't mean they're nice. As for Rin and Shiro being in a relationship…got you there, didn't I? I've always thought that Rin had a crush on Shiro (only reciprocated in Unlimited Blade Works, which is my favourite, by the way), so yeah.

Additional Notes: First Generation Quincy are Quincy who come from mage clans (as in their parents are mages). While many Quincy are descended from mage clans (descendants are not counted as First Generation Quincy), the Quincy bloodlines are heavily mixed, most Quincy originally being ordinary Humans with spiritual awareness.

Also, no, the Vandenreich will not be making an appearance; the Quincy will take their revenge for all the grudges they bear against mages by condemning them to a fate worse than death: by making magecraft and magic obselete. Everything they were, everything they are, and everything they might have been, will be as nothing. Some would say magic cannot be achieved by technological means, but recall Clarke's Third Law: any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I prefer to think there were more than five magics at the start of the 19th Century, but with the advancement of science and technology, they were steadily reduced.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Chapter 6: Family Matters Part 1

Berserker roared in fury, dark blue energy flaring in a blazing surge of immaterial power; raising his axe, he charged Shinji and Assassin, killing intent filling the surrounding air. Assassin dodged Berserker's attack, throwing his poisoned blades at the opposing Servant; merely bouncing off the giant's skin, they might as well have been toys, serving only to annoy Berserker who immediately focused his attentions on Assassin. And while Assassin could easily dodge Berserker's attacks, his own attacks were fruitlessly vain.

As Berserker and Assassin engaged one another, Shiro got to his feet and staggered away, a hand clutching his side. "_I've got to get out of here while I still have the chance. Sabre…no, I can't call her. Not yet…I can still take care of myself by this point, and she doesn't need to get herself into danger._"

"What's wrong, Emiya?" Shinji asked with a smirk, as he casually chased after the fleeing mage. "Why don't you call your Servant? Or do you really think that you can get out of this on your own?" With a disdainful wave of his hand, he materialized tendrils of darkness and had them bind Shiro's limbs, who struggled to break free. "Honestly, that self-sacrificing attitude of yours is so annoying. It's not fit for a Master, or a mage." Bringing Shiro closer, he materialized other tendrils, which quickly coalesced into bladed implements before the suddenly horrified mage. "Since you don't really seem to have what it takes to be either a mage or a Master, I think I'll be taking your magic circuits." Shinji said with a sadistic smile. "Rest assured, you'll live, even if only as a vegetable."

But even as Shinji prepared to cut out Shiro's magic circuits, Berserker charged in from the rear, roaring and with his massive axe held high. "Trash…" Shinji snarled, waves of darkness angrily flowing and breaking like waves on rocks against the raging giant. Incensed by the futile attack, Berserker swung his axe downwards with devastating force, tearing through shadow, flesh, and bone in a spray of crimson blood. "Damn…you…" Shinji gasped out, blood pouring from his mouth even as the upper third of his ruined body toppled to the ground, quickly vanishing in a swirl of darkness.

"Bastard…" Assassin spat out as he leapt to the attack, intending to strike the unprotected nape of the giant, only for Berserker to react with unexpected speed and agility, shattering Assassin's sword and left arm with a single, backhanded swing, and sending Assassin flying. "Impossible…" Assassin whispered in disbelief, before fading back into spirit form to re-join his fleeing Master. Triumphantly roaring in barbarian euphoria, Berserker also faded into spirit form after a moment.

Shiro ran; the moment Berserker had overwhelmed Shinji and inadvertently freed Shiro, he had ran, ignoring the pain of his broken ribs and driving himself with adrenaline alone. As he turned a corner, he was caught by surprise by the sight of a silver-haired little girl in fine, purple clothes standing in the middle of the sidewalk. Smiling happily at him, her crimson irises flared brilliantly as she gazed right into Shiro's eyes. Shiro immediately realized that he shouldn't look into her eyes, but it was too late. Before he could do anything, he felt his mind go blank, his vision darkening even as he toppled onto the ground.

"Onii-chan…" Illya whispered as she walked up to her prone stepbrother and knelt down beside him. "…you really should work on your mental defences. Sella, Leysritt." She called, running a hand through his hair; after a moment, the two maids were beside her, awaiting her command.

"Patch him up, and then take him home. And make sure to avoid detection no matter what." Illya commanded, rising to her feet but continuing to look at Shiro.

"But my lady…" Sella protested. "…he is an Emiya, and…"

"Are you questioning my authority, Sella?" Illya asked in a neutral tone.

"No, of course not; but your grandfather…"

"My grandfather is not here, and I will conduct this war as I see fit. Now, obey." Illya calmly declared without even looking at her servants. After a tense moment, Sella bowed and said "By your command, my lady."

Illya stepped back and surveyed her surroundings as both Sella and Leysritt moved forward and knelt down beside Shiro. "Who will make the next move, I wonder?" she said almost absent-mindedly to herself. Her musings broke off when Sella said with a note of surprise in her voice "My lady, the Emiya, his body…it's healing itself."

"What?" Illya said in surprise, rushing back to her stepbrother's side. After a moment of examination, her eyes widened, and she said "Onii-chan, what are you?" Pulling herself together, she told Sella and Leysritt "Take him home, and then meet up with me at Castle von Einzbern."

"Yes, my lady." They responded; picking up Shiro, they walked off in the direction of the Emiya Estate.

"Berserker, let's go home." Illya snapped, and walking away, vanished into the night.

* * *

"That was good." Iskander said contentedly, as Sakura and Uryuu cleared the table. "I haven't felt this full in a while."

"That's probably because you ate two whole Peking ducks by yourself." Sakura said somewhat irritably.

"Well, what can I say? I am a big man."

"No kidding." She responded, picking up a remote and turning on the TV.

"Moving onto the next item on tonight's news, it seems that the Allied Space Agency will be launching the first solar sail-equipped prospector craft from the lunar and Martian bases within this month." The newscaster said. "According to the public relations officer's statement earlier today, with lunar and Martian mining and industry now stable, this project is aimed at expanding and continuing Humanity's great advance into space, as well as to capitalize on the skills and talents of the new generation of space-born Humans now reaching maturity."

"Come to think of it…" Ryuuken began as he lit a cigarette. "…I haven't told you two pieces of interesting news I picked up from my trip, have I?"

"What kind of news would that be?" Uryuu asked as Sakura prepared dessert.

"Which do you prefer first, the bad news or the good news?"

"I think the bad news first sounds good." Sakura said, muting the TV and serving out ice cream. "Here you go, Iskander."

"What's this?"

"Chocolate ice cream with almonds."

"Now this is something to be enjoyed." The man immediately responded with approval after taking a taste, causing Sakura to smile before she turned back to Ryuuken, who continued after taking a pull from his cigarette.

"Well, the bad news is actually good news for us, and bad news for our 'colleagues' in the Mages Association. Apparently, some half-wit department head at the Clock Tower thought it would be funny to try and hack Yggdrasil."

"How far did they get in?" Uryuu asked in concern.

"They didn't; just a few moments after they tried to crack the Level One firewall, Yggdrasil locked in on them and countered. Around twenty mages were brain-fried, and several disturbances were set off in the Clock Tower as a result." Pulling out a piece of paper, he said with a smile "Would you like to read a copy of the most insulting letter ever sent to the Mages Association in history?"

Uryuu reached out for the letter, but Sakura took it first; scanning it with a practiced eye, she smiled and began to read out loud:

"_To our esteemed colleagues in the Clock Tower,_

_We are most un-amused by your recent attempt to influence world affairs. Were it not for current world conditions that prohibit a major breach of relations between our two organizations, we would not hesitate to deliver swift and just retribution upon your rotting hides. As a guarantee for your continued good behaviour, we have taken into our custody a number of your sealed magi to assist in our future projects. Rest assured, their good health and future are ensured._

_Yours sincerely, Brian Sanders_

_President of the United States, Illuminati Councillor_

"I'd say that calls for a drink." Iskander said with a laugh.

"Yes, I'd say it does; shame really, I'm still a minor and so I can't drink." Sakura said, handing the letter back to Ryuuken.

"Did Councillor Sanders just reveal that the Quincy and the Illuminati are one and the same?" Uryuu said aghast.

"Yes, he did." Ryuuken said, taking another pull from his cigarette as he stowed the letter. "We've come this far. We can't stop now. We cannot allow the Association to perpetuate the status quo; we've made great strides to ensure that Gaia and the entire universe do not turn against us, but to continue that progress and allow us to continue to open the road of evolution in relative safety, the plan must remain in motion. The Association and its allies must realize they stand the risk of facing the wrath of the whole world if they seek to hinder our efforts."

"I agree." Iskander concurred, crossing his arms as he did so. "Humanity must change; otherwise it will not have a future. I don't know much about mages and their hierarchy, but I do know that their philosophy is imitative rather than innovative. They face only the past, whereas you people forge a future and even now seek to travel to the stars on your own achievements. They must realize that to have a future, they must change. Even I must change; I cannot lead Humanity as I am now, but I promise you this: I will survive and triumph in this war, learn the ways of this world, and find a way to lead Humanity into the future. After all, the King is his people, and the people are their King; if Humanity has changed, then I will change as well. For the future…"

"The Association and its constituents will not change. Change is anathema to mages." Ryuuken said somewhat bitterly, no doubt remembering the blood stained into the history of the Quincy.

"Then I fear they have condemned themselves to decay and stagnation."

"And the good news is?" Sakura asked as she sat down at the table.

"The orbital network has been upgraded with orbital bombardment capability. The test firing was a complete success; ORT was completely destroyed by a precision particle cannon strike from orbit. With this, the United States and its allies, and by extension we and our allies as well, have now achieved complete orbital supremacy. In case of a conflict with the Association and its allies, we have acquired yet another trump card."

"I see; even so, I certainly hope it won't come to the point where we have to play all our cards."

"I agree; despite the infeasibility of it, I still hope the Association and its allies see reason."

* * *

Zouken Matou walked down into the dungeons of the Matou Manor, and gazed into the central chamber; seated on a throne in the middle was Shinji, his flesh knitting back together, purple energy crackling along fleshy black cables that ran from the throne and into the flesh of glassy-eyed young women that sat or lay nude along the chamber's stone walls or floor. At one point in time, Zouken had dismissed Shinji and his father as failures, and had raged against the loss of the Tohsaka's younger heiress, but no longer. Byakuya and Shinji were imperfect to be sure, but both had proven quite useful in pioneering the creation of artificial mages, and the latter had proven himself surprisingly competent as a Master; it was just his luck that he had angered the von Einzbern princess and that his own implanted magic circuits were unstable.

"Are you still angry over the von Einzbern princess, Shinji?" Zouken asked with a faint note of mockery in his voice.

"Of course I am!" Shinji spat. "That damn brat…I'll make her pay."

"Do you really think you can defeat her Servant? Or have you forgotten that your own Servant is no match for Berserker in a direct confrontation?"

"I have forgotten nothing! But…in this case, it seems that I must first create a situation to my advantage." Waving a hand from his throne, he created an illusionary projection of Ryuudo Temple. "Caster, was it?" Shinji whispered with a sadistic smirk. "Yes, I think you will prove quite useful to me. And in more ways than one..."

Zouken merely smiled; Shinji it would seem had more in him than met the eye.

* * *

Sakura walked down the street for home the following morning, cheerfully humming softly to herself and with her hands full with groceries and some goodies from a bakeshop; Iskander had expressed a desire for some bread when she had left for the supermarket earlier that morning shortly after breakfast. As she turned a corner and the Ishida Estate came into view, she was surprised to see her sister pacing in front of the Ishida Estate's wrought iron gates. "Nee-san?" she asked herself, remembering a conversation from earlier at the supermarket.

_Begin Flashback_

"_Sakura-chan!" a voice called from behind Sakura as she inspected fresh vegetables at the supermarket. Turning and looking behind her, she caught sight of her sister's best friend, Mitsuzuri Ayako walking towards her._

"_Can I help you with something, Mitsuzuri-senpai?" Sakura asked politely._

_Nodding, the other girl answered "Yeah, I need you to talk to your older sister. Back before classes got suspended because of that gang fight at school a couple of nights ago, she seemed concerned about something. She tried to talk to me about it, but she was vague and indecisive about the matter. With the rumours about her having a secret boyfriend and all, maybe I'm just reading too much into this, but I think she's into some kind of trouble. And seeing as you're her only family left, well I figured she might be more open to you."_

_Privately, Sakura thought to herself that Rin was just worried about the advent of the Fifth Holy Grail War, but then reason asserted itself: her sister had been preparing to enter this war since the end of the previous one, and would not even consider the idea of sharing her worries about it to anyone else. No, this probably had something to with her sweetheart or something along those lines._

"_I'll see what I can do." Sakura promised the older woman, who nodded and replied with a smile "Alright then, I'll leave it you."_

_End Flashback_

Sighing to herself, Sakura looked around to see if anyone could be watching before using Hirenkyaku to close with her worried sister in an instant.

* * *

Rin worriedly paced in front of the Ishida Estate; while it was true that her sister lived here and the Ishida had always been polite and even friendly to her in the past (even allowing Sakura and Rin to visit one another), they were on opposing sides in this conflict, so she wondered if it was safe to visit now.

"_Why don't you just go home, Rin?_" Archer asked silently while in spirit form. Archer had been particularly opposed to this idea, unwilling to take the risk and expressing his opinion that Rin should be more than capable of dealing with her problems on her own. The way he had said it implied to Rin that Archer might have a mage or even a magician in the past, despite his claims that he could not remember his past or even his own name.

"_Shut up._" She silently responded, unwilling to back down now that she had come this far, yet still undecided about whether or not she should ring the bell. Any further thoughts on the matter vanished when Sakura just appeared in front of her with fresh groceries, startling the young mage.

"Hey there, nee-san; what brings you here?" she asked politely and with a smile that just worried Rin even more.

"N-nothing really; I was just out for a walk, that's all. B-bye…" Rin stammered out, backing away, ultimately finding herself unable to face her sister…only for said sister to cut off her escape route with Hirenkyaku.

"Is that so now?" Sakura began in an amused tone. "To be honest, I don't think so. You see, I met Mitsuzuri-senpai at the supermarket earlier. She said that you worried about something and asked me to talk to you about it. Now I know you would never express worries about this fiasco to anyone else, so it has to be something else. Come on nee-san, I'm not stupid. You came here to talk to me. And why shouldn't you? We're the last of our family." Walking past her sister, Sakura unlocked and opened the gates and walked in with the groceries, saying over her shoulder "Close and lock the gates behind you please."

After a moment, Rin sighed and following her sister, entered the Ishida Estate.

* * *

"Please prepare plates, mugs, and utensils for six on a tray, nee-san. I'm sure you remember where things are from your last visit." Sakura said as she brewed some coffee and prepared the bread she bought from the bakeshop. The two of them were in the kitchen, and despite herself Rin found the air of domestic housework with her sister strangely comforting.

"Show yourself; I don't like the idea of someone watching me from the shadows in my own house." Sakura snapped coldly over a shoulder; after a moment, Rin realized it was addressed to Archer, and she said "Archer, do as she says."

After a moment, Acher materialized, causing Sakura to relax and say "Better; it's much more polite this way, isn't it?"

"I suppose so." Rin responded neutrally as she finished setting up the dining implements on a tray even as Sakura placed a hot pot of coffee and a plate of pastries on another tray. Then, turning to Archer, she looked at the Servant with a serious expression on her face and said "Archer, was it? You feel…familiar, as though I should know you. Why is that I wonder?"

Archer smirked, though deep down he was concerned; this incarnation of Sakura was unusually skilled in spiritual sensing (although according to Rin this was to be expected from a Quincy). Not letting his concern show, he responded with "Coincidence, perhaps?"

"Coincidences are for the weak-minded and the ignorant." Sakura replied somewhat disdainfully, apparently insulted at the idea. Finally, she shrugged and said "Oh well, I'll figure it out eventually I suppose." Picking up her tray (with Rin doing likewise with hers) she led the way to the library; Ryuuken and Iskander were still playing chess, though Uryuu was now studying something on Yggdrasil's terminal. "I'm back, and I brought guests and food!" she cheerfully announced.

"Nice timing…" Iskander replied, turning away from his game. "…and good to see you, Archer."

"Same here, Rider." Archer politely replied, taking a seat nearby.

"Hello Rin, it's been a while." Ryuuken greeted the elder Tohsaka as he accepted a mug of coffee from Sakura. Taking a sip and recognizing it as French Roast, he held it out and said "More cream, please."

"Hello, Ishida-san." Rin responded, as she served the food and drink (as Sakura added cream to Ryuuken's coffee), surprisingly more than enough for everyone (including herself and Archer).

"What's this?" Iskander asked, holding up a crescent-shaped pastry.

"Ham-and-cheese croissant." Sakura replied deadpan. After a moment, the man bit into it experimentally, then his expression changing, ate it with relish.

"So, what did you want to talk about, nee-san?" Sakura asked, taking a seat opposite her sister and taking a drink from her coffee mug. The reply caused her and Archer to choke and Uryuu, Ryuuken, and Iskander to look at the other girl in surprise.

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

A/N

Some have asked me what's so special about the First Generation Quincy (those born and raised in mage clans before becoming Quincy). The irony about them is that despite being raised in such a static and non-innovative environment, they are extremely adaptive and are in general more talented either as Quincy or as scientists/engineers than other Quincy.

The world here is also quite different from both the canon and the real world. Here, there are bases and settlements on both the Moon and on Mars, with a significant number of people living off-world and by this point in time an entire generation has achieved maturity off-world, the so-called 'space-born'. There's also a network of particle cannons in orbit, and a massive space station for servicing spacecraft. I'm not saying interplanetary travel is casual and commonplace, but it's certainly cheaper and more common than it is in reality, and is well on its way to being casual and commonplace. There's also only one space agency in the world, the ASA (Allied Space Agency) born from a meeting in space between the US President and the Soviet Premier during the 1970s. It's just background material and it won't really play a role in the story, but still, it's a fun idea.

And last, the Quincy and the Illuminati. The former are actually just part of the latter, but the organization (composed mostly of ordinary Humans – politicians, scientists, artists, engineers, soldiers, religious figures – as well as Quincy and even a few forward-thinking mages (such as Waver Velvet), not to mention the magicians and Arcueid Brunestud) has the ultimate goal of advancing Humanity and ensuring its survival (while preparations have been made just in case Gaia turns against Humanity, the Illuminati actually seek to prevent that from happening by streamlining Human technology).


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Chapter 7: Family Matters Part 2

Sakura had issues with her sister; that much is true. This is, however, more professional rather than personal, stemming from the ideological and philosophical differences between the elder sister, a mage, and the younger sister, a Quincy. Personally, the two are quite close, and Sakura has always made it clear that she is quite protective of her older sister, using her influence among the masses of the student body to learn what she can of her sister's suitors; the appearance of a 'secret' boyfriend, while a crushing failure, ultimately Sakura was nonetheless able to console herself that her sister should be smart enough to avoid trouble. At least, that was the idea…

* * *

"PREGNANT!" Sakura and Archer shouted as one with a mix of indignation and surprise once they had recovered from their bouts of choking.

Taken aback, Rin scowled and asked "Yeah, and is that all you have to say about it?"

Archer groaned before palming his face. Sakura looked as though she were dazed for a moment before shaking her head to clear it; looking over a shoulder with narrowed eyes, she silenced her snickering fiancé and had Iskander and Ryuuken return to their chess match with a look. Sighing, she turned back to her sister and asked "Okay…who's the father?"

"…"

"I can't hear."

"…"

"Just say it already!" Sakura demanded angrily, glaring darkly at her blushing sister.

"Alright, alright; no need to shout. It's…its Shiro Emiya." Rin finally blurted out; Sakura's mouth dropped open, and Archer – who seemed to have recovered somewhat – groaned and palmed his face again even as he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Emiya…he's the father? Nee-san, I didn't know he was your type of guy." Sakura said, slumping in her seat and massaging her temples, her anger draining out of her rapidly.

"Hey, just because he's a doormat it doesn't mean he doesn't have any good points!" Rin said indignantly, springing to Shiro's defence automatically. "He's dependable, determined, and quite stronger than he looks…" she broke as she saw the look on her sister's face.

"I don't believe it, but it seems you really do love the guy, don't you, nee-san?" Sakura asked, her voice filled with a mix of surprise and wonder.

"Is that so wrong?" Rin asked, somewhat hurt.

"No, not really; to be honest, I'm happy for you, somehow. You are keeping it, right?" Sakura answered, though the last question had a note of steel running through it, causing Rin to bristle.

"Of course I am! Just what do you make of me?" Rin snarled in response, looking straight into her sister's eyes. Archer fidgeted in his seat as he watched the two sisters lock each other's gazes. He had always known Rin was a strong woman, but the Sakura he had known was a very different woman from this Sakura. This one might as well have been forged out of steel. "_Is this how Sakura should have been?_" he silently wondered to himself. His musings broke off as Sakura smiled and stood up.

"No, my apologies, nee-san; it seems I went too far. Now then, shall we get going?"

"Go? Go where?" Rin asked in surprise.

"To go and see Emiya Shiro, of course." Sakura responded with a smile that somehow disturbed her older sister.

* * *

Bazett sat at a desk in her hotel room, laying out three Tarot cards face down in an effort to divine the potentialities of the Fifth Holy Grail War. Although her injury from the Quincy Holy Arrow had since been closed and healed, the effects of it on her abilities and body still lingered; she was far from her full strength. Her eyes widened as she turned the first card, representing the past: the Fool, in an upright position. An ill-considered judgment, something that could arguably be said about the whole Holy Grail War business and even her involvement in it, but that wasn't unusual by itself.

The second card was the Wheel of Fortune; representing the present, it told of a neutral fate for the time being, neither good nor bad. The last card however, was the Tower: strife, destruction, chaos in the future.

"What's wrong? You look shaken." Lancer said as he came out of the shower with a tower wrapped around his waist. "You shouldn't let fortune-telling get to you, you know. The future is only what we make of it; nothing is ever set in stone."

"Perhaps you're right…" Bazett answered; despite herself, she knew that the Tower had at least one positive aspect: courage and strength to face and perhaps overcome great evil. "_I certainly hope this war doesn't go the same way the previous war went._" She thought to herself in concern over her readings.

* * *

"I'll get it." Shiro called out as the doorbell rang. Opening the front door, he had enough time to register two girls standing there waiting for the door to open: his girlfriend in her usual red, long-sleeved shirt and black skirt, and her younger sister in typical blue and white blouse and pants. That was all he had the time to register before Sakura's eyes narrowed in fury and she swung a vicious right hook that sent him flying down the hallway.

"You bastard; how dare you knock up my sister?" she snarled in fury, using Hirenkyaku to close and grab Shiro by the collar. Pulling the surprised and uncomprehending boy close, she said in a dangerously sweet voice "We have a lot to discuss, _brother_."

"W-what…" Shiro stammered out as Sakura continued to glare at him and Rin face palmed at them both from the doorway. Archer was struggling not to laugh as he watched from the background; perhaps he didn't need to kill this incarnation of himself after all. Fatherhood ought to teach him something about reality, to say nothing of Rin's influence.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Taiga shouted as she came down the hallway holding a wooden sword and pointing it belligerently at Sakura. "What are you doing to Shiro? I don't know what kind of issues you have with him, but coming in here and threatening him is going too far!"

"Shut it!" Sakura snapped uncharacteristically. Ignoring Shiro's frantic shaking of his head, she continued and said "This bastard knocked my sister up! I can't just let him off the hook!"

After a moment of deadly silence, Rin moaned and face palmed yet again as Taiga moved with inhuman speed; pushing a surprised Sakura to the side, she grabbed the absolutely mortified Shiro's collar and shouted "What? You made Rin pregnant? And you already have a girlfriend too! We didn't raise you to be like this! I won't forgive this!"

"B-but…she…Rin…is my…girlfriend…" Shiro choked out as Taiga throttled him.

"Oh, is that so?" Taiga asked, calming down for a moment…then continued to throttle him as she said "In that case, be a man and take responsibility!"

"He better!" Sakura said from the side, pulling out a knife out of nowhere and testing its edge on a finger. "Otherwise I'll be cutting something out of him that he won't be needing."

"Good, I'll help you." Taiga said in a voice that sent shivers down Shiro's spine. Spotting Kiritsugu and Sabre watching side by side from further into the house, Shiro reached out with a hand and said "Help…"

His eyes glittering mischievously, Kiritsugu merely shook his head and said "Shiro, I'm so disappointed."

"You made someone who isn't your wife pregnant?" Sabre asked impassively. "Disgusting; Shiro, I expected better from you."

"Oh come on!" Shiro cried in despair; finally salvation came as Rin entered and said "Alright, that should be enough drama for now. Why don't we all sit down and talk about this civilly?"

"That's no fun…but I suppose it's alright." Sakura conceded, putting her knife away.

"I suppose so." Taiga said, disdainfully dropping Shiro on the floor and walking away, escorting Sakura to the living room. Struggling to rise despite Rin's help, he looked up to see Archer approach and look at him with an amused smile.

"W-what is it?" he asked grumpily at the Servant, who merely chuckled before replying with a smile (something which eerily reminded both Rin and Shiro of something or someone they couldn't remember) "Nothing in particular. It's just that it seems I may have underestimated you, Shiro Emiya."

* * *

"Are you sure about this? Letting Sakura go off on her own like that?" Ryuuken asked Uryuu and Iskander in concern.

"Tohsaka-senpai is an opponent in this conflict, and Archer is with her, but she wouldn't go so low as to turn on her sister the moment her back is turned. It's not in her character." Uryuu replied, and Iskander nodded in affirmation. "If she needs me, I can be with her in an instant. And they're going to talk about family matters; hardly my place to butt into."

Smiling, Iskander said triumphantly "Checkmate." Ryuuken sighed and said "Looks like it; so that's five wins and one draw. Oh well, I suppose the conversation's worth the losses. And it's rare to find a good player anyway."

"Oh? Sakura and Uryuu don't play chess with you?"

"They do…but they're not very good at it."

"I heard that." Uryuu said from where he was replacing books back on their shelves.

Ignoring his son's comment, Ryuuken stood up and said "Sorry 'bout this, but I really have to go. I have some patients I need to look into at the hospital among other things."

"Sure, go ahead." Iskander responded; sitting back in his chair, he pulled out a book and began to read as Ryuuken left the room. "So what's the plan?" Uryuu asked, causing the man to look up from what he was reading.

"Isn't it obvious? To survive this war, recruit or defeat the other Servants, destroy the Holy Grail, and begin our march to victory."

"No, what I meant was how do you intend to take the lead once this war is over?"

Leaning back in his chair, Iskander thought for a moment before responding. "As much as I hate to admit it, I can't lead Humanity openly…not yet at any rate; I suppose I have to take on a variety of false identities and do what I can to lead it in the right direction. It's not really my style, to be honest, but I did take acting classes under old man Aristotle before, so I suppose it should be fun. But before we can go to the stars, we need to fix things up down here on Earth. Either we recruit or destroy the Association, get the remaining Dead Apostles on our side, unite all of Humanity under one banner…and then, well, everything starts after that."

"Can we really do all that though? I mean, Humanity is one thing, but the Association and the Dead Apostles are another."

"True…but they also said that conquering the world was impossible."

"Fair enough, I suppose."

"And you do have that magician, Zel-something to your side, not to mention that True Ancestor princess; if you people did that much before now, there's hope that we can get the others to fight by our side instead of outright destroying them."

"Zelretch…said that the future of this world was potentially brighter through our path. I don't know what he saw in one of his trips though alternate universes, but as far as I know, it was something that horrified the ruling council at the time. Arcueid, well, she's a special case."

"Yeah, I know. Still, we won't know until we try, right?"

* * *

"Shiro…" Sakura began to ask as she sat at the Emiya Manor's living room. "…how far do you intend to go?"

"As far as I have to." Shiro replied resolutely.

"Really?" she asked, her eyes narrowed and her face betraying no sign of what she was thinking.

"Of course; I love Rin, and that's my child! There's no way I'm just going to throw them away just because it would inconvenience our lives!"

Sakura eyebrows rose in surprise at the declaration, while Sabre and Taiga's mouths fell open in surprise. Rin blushed, taking Shiro's hand and interlocking her fingers with his, while Kiritsugu and Archer smiled knowingly. After a moment, Sakura sighed and said resignedly "Well, I suppose I should have expected that from you. My apologies, Emiya-senpai, for both the blow earlier and anything offensive I might have said."

"No, it's alright…" Shiro began to say when Taiga butted in.

"Wait a minute! This is romantic and all, but haven't you people thought about this? Shiro, you and Rin are only students; are you sure you can handle the responsibilities of parenthood on your own? And can you really support Rin and your child?"

"I…_we're _keeping the child, Taiga-sensei, regardless of our age." Rin said dangerously.

"And if it's a question of money, well, the Tohsaka family is actually quite well off, though nee-san doesn't get full control of the family assets from the state until she comes of age." Sakura said, moving to support her sister, getting an appreciative nod from her and Shiro in return.

"As for handling the responsibilities, well, I suppose we can help out if we have to, don't we?" Kiritsugu said, looking at his wife. Finally, Taiga relented and said "Alright, I give. I just hope you two don't regret this."

"We won't. I definitely won't." Rin said, placing her head on Shiro's shoulder. Smiling at the sight, Sakura turned to everyone else and said "Well, I suppose that's that. I guess it's about time we went home."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want us to walk you home?" Rin asked her sister, who merely shrugged and said "No need; I'll just teleport from here."

"I-I see. Well then, see you soon, Sakura."

"Of course, nee-san." At that Rin walked off in the direction of the Tohsaka Estate; after a moment, the younger woman pulled out a few silver cylinders, crushed them while whispering a few words, and vanished into the night.

* * *

Taiga walked up to and sat down beside her husband as he looked up at the night sky from the veranda. "What are you thinking about, Kiritsugu?"

"That girl, Sakura; she brought the King of Conquerors to this time and age. Knowing the Quincy, if they win this war, they'll probably destroy the Holy Grail and pull of some kind of stunt to keep the King of Conquerors in this world."

"But why?"

"What else but to assist in the fulfilment of their desire to unite Mankind and ascend to the stars? Ten years ago, I would have thought it a foolish dream, but now…I don't think so. To be honest, I think the world and future they seek, is probably what's best for Humanity right now."

"And Shiro and Rin?"

"They're not a bad match; Shiro reminds me so much of when I was younger. If he's not careful, then he might end up destroying himself. Ideals are fine in theory, but sometimes they just can't be reconciled with reality. Rin would do well as Shiro's tether."

"And what about _her_?"

Kiritsugu paused before softly replying "Illyasviel…I don't know if she's here or not, but if she is, then I place all my hopes on Shiro or the Tohsaka sisters that they can save her. She is my daughter after all."

"You still love her, don't you? Irisviel, that is?" Silencing her husband as he looked at her with a stricken expression on his face with a finger to his lips, she continued "No, it's alright. I know I could never replace her in your heart, and I have never tried to…but…"

To her surprise, Kiritsugu pulled her close and embraced her tightly, whispering "You don't have to force yourself to…I love you the way you are. You are who you are, just as Irisviel was Irisviel. So, just be yourself, and thank you, for being with me all this time."

"Kiritsugu…I'm sorry…I shouldn't have brought it up…and I promise, if you get your daughter back, I'll do what I can for her."

"I know you will. But right now, having you by my side, is more than enough for me."

As the two sat in the moonlight, Sabre, who had been listening in from the shadows, thoughtfully went back inside, her thoughts going back to the last moments of the Fourth Holy Grail War. "_Kiritsugu…you have changed a great deal. You are not the same man I knew in that nightmare ten years ago._"

* * *

"I'm home." Sakura said; hearing no response, she removed her shoes and putting on her slippers made her way to the library. As expected, she found Uryuu and Iskander (but not Ryuuken) standing around the central hologram, which was displaying schematics of some sort.

"Welcome home, Sakura." Uryuu greeted her before she kissed him on the cheek. "W-what was that for?" he asked, embarrassed even more so by this public act of affection by Iskander's wide grin.

"No particular reason. I just wanted to do it. Is something wrong?"

"No, I suppose not." Coughing to regain his dignity, Uryuu asked "How'd the discussion go?"

"As expected, Emiya-senpai took responsibility. It's a given, considering his character. If not, I'd have killed him, assuming my sister didn't."

"I hope you didn't go too far when you saw him." Iskander said knowingly.

"Don't worry, I didn't. I roughed him up a little, that's all." Sakura responded, somewhat embarrassed that she went that far.

"Alright then…come and take a look at this." Iskander said, indicating the hologram.

"What is it?"

"It's a technical diagram of the Holy Grail system." Uryuu said; manipulating the controls, a segment of the diagram began to flash red. "Analysis of the system has revealed some kind of energy imbalance or technical fault in the system."

"How bad is it? Will it result in a similar disaster like the end of the previous war?" she asked in concern.

"Unknown; we have insufficient data to formulate a hypothesis. I certainly hope not though."

"Well, if we don't know what it is beforehand, we can only deal with it once we face it. Whatever the result might be…" Iskander said, though with a note of caution in his voice.

"It sure looks that way…I hate situations like this. Too many variables for my liking…"

"For the over-cautious, everything is impossible."

"Yes, sorry about that."

"No need to apologize." Iskander said with a shrug, causing Sakura and Uryuu to smile before they turned to regard the flashing diagram yet again. Somehow, and she didn't know why, Sakura felt a dark sense of foreboding in the back of her mind at what she was seeing.

* * *

It's not Quincy in space; it's Humans in space. Most Quincy operations are directed on Earth, with a focus on suppressing the Association and its affiliates' influence. As for how ORT was destroyed by a particle cannon strike, well, all I can say is that compared to a nuke, a particle beam uses its destructive power more efficiently. If a nuke is a sledgehammer, then a particle beam is a sword. A good analogue of a particle beam is a Covenant Energy Projector. It's called plasma out of convenience, but it's not really plasma as we know it. Between that and the special properties of 'plasma', an orbital particle cannon strike was able to 'impose' the concept of death on ORT.

Arcueid is mentioned here, so I might as well put in her AU backstory. Around fifteen years before this story begins, she teams up with a Valkyrie Commander to hunt down a certain elusive but deadly and powerful Dead Apostle. They don't get along well at first, but they eventually become close. At the completion of their mission, Arcueid begins to succumb to her vampiric impulses, and like in Tsukihime, prepares to seal herself away into eternal sleep…only for the Valkyrie (unwilling to be separated from her) to use an ancient Quincy technique to bind his soul to hers. This almost destroys his soul at first – as a Human soul should be unable to match a True Ancestor's soul – and awakens Brunestud of the Crimson Moon who taunts the Valkyrie at his impotent arrogance.

However, said Valkyrie refuses to give up, and despite the impossibility of it all, succeeds in binding his soul to Arcueid's. Brunestud perceived Humanity's true nature at that moment: endless desire that surpasses even the magic that defeated him in the first place. Intrigued, he disavows Gaia and the other Ultimate Ones, declaring that from now on, he will watch and see how far Humanity can go. Arcueid and the Valkyrie (I haven't come up with a name yet) are now two souls and two beings as one True Ancestor. Arcueid can now use Quincy powers, and the Valkyrie gained True Ancestor abilities. Their vampiric impulses are permanently suppressed by their Human aspect, though it limits their individual power to approximately fifty per cent…but by working together as a team, on average they have five times as much power as Altrouge Brunestud and Primate Murder.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Chapter 8: The Veil is torn

Darkness shrouded Ryuudo Temple; Caster's familiars prowled the grounds, a powerful barrier surrounded the entire temple, and even now Caster worked to harness the powerful energies enshrined within the temple itself. But unknown to her, an even darker shadow was about to fall upon her and those around her…

* * *

"Would you please stop pacing; it's making my head hurt." Uryuu complained as Sakura continued to pace worriedly.

"How can you be so calm at a time like this?" Sakura snapped out (though she did stop pacing to Uryuu's relief).

"Look; there's nothing we can do about this, unless you want to storm Ryuudo Temple, defeat Caster, and check out the 'heart' of the Greater Holy Grail for yourself."

"That's an idea." Iskander put in, and Sakura nodded approvingly to Uryuu's discomfort. "I can deploy an entire legion to give us the numbers to storm Ryuudo Temple, and you can provide the thunder to crack Caster's defences."

"Good idea." Sakura concurred. "Caster has unparalleled mastery of magecraft, but thankfully we have something that should tip the scales in our favour."

"Wait Sakura; even if you could seize Ryuudo Temple and defeat Caster, what's the point?" an appalled Uryuu asked. "Even if you could figure out what's wrong with the system – and that's a big if – how are you going to fix it? All we have is a basic understanding of the system's configuration extrapolated from its effect and the spiritual patterns of the land."

"In that case, I'll just destroy it then and there."

"Are you serious? Our preparations aren't…" Uryuu continued to protest when Sakura interrupted with a look of surprise on her face.

"Wait, are you saying you haven't memorized the Song of Creation yet?"

"Well, I have actually…but that's not the point! Don't just go rushing in recklessly without thinking this through!"

"True…but this is a good opportunity too. Nee-san told me that Caster's familiars have been attacking civilians across the city." Sakura paused and looked at Iskander before continuing "Sorry Iskander; but I'm afraid we can't just let her do as she pleases. We have to stop her now before she causes any more damage."

Iskander sighed before replying "It sure looks that way, doesn't it?"

"With that said, I'll go and get changed. Uryuu, could you please go and get the M6 Grindell from the armoury?"

"_Looks like there's no choice for it, huh?_" Uryuu thought to himself as he sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose before replying "Alright then; I'll stay with Yggdrasil here; if anything turns up, I'll let you know. If you need me, I can be there in a few minutes. Will that be alright, you two?"

"Yeah, that should be plenty." Sakura replied before looking at Iskander who nodded in agreement. "Now then, let's get moving."

* * *

"…_the blood of the innocent holds great power._" Assassin thought to himself, recalling his Master's words with distaste. He was a force of destruction, a stone killer, and he could never deny that, but still, this was a most distasteful task. That day he had abducted and subdued large numbers of children and brought them to five places around Mt. Ryuudo even as his Master and his grandfather's familiars had dug a circle linking together all five points. The focal points were marked by an inscribed pentagon on the ground; Assassin wasn't skilled in magecraft, but even he knew what this was: blood magic, plain and simple.

With a sigh, he drew his daggers and threw them with unerring precision, each embedding itself into a forehead of a child; the least he could do was end this quickly and mercifully, disgust and revulsion born of professional pride filling him against his masters. As the last child toppled dead to the ground, dark energy began to crackle in the circle even as worm and insect-like familiars poured from the ground and consumed their flesh. Assassin stepped back as the energies built, spilling out of the circle and filling the trench…and for an instant formed a crackling, seething wall of energy around Mt. Ryuudo. Just for an instant…but enough to shatter the mighty barriers and destroy the sensitive probes and traps set by Caster around her lair. Assassin didn't waste any time; once the path was clear, he swept up the stairs to the temple, seeking Caster's Master. "_Yes…_" he thought to himself. "…_this is a task more suitable for one such as myself._"

* * *

"The sanctuary has been breached." Caster declared with a faint of alarm. "Master Souichirou, please depart immediately."

"How many?" he asked in response, unfazed by the apparent loss of their defences.

"Only one Servant is on approach, but he is of an unknown class, master."

"I see; then it would be more prudent to hold our ground here. The enemy Master will most likely be waiting in ambush should we attempt an escape. I assume you still have coverage over the interior of the temple?"

"Of course; my familiars within the temple grounds also remain active."

"Then we hold here."

No sooner had he said this, several daggers tore through the thin paper of a nearby door and flew towards Kuzuki, who easily dodged all but one, which he caught with his fingers. Throwing it back, it stabbed into a wooden post just inches from a surprised Assassin's head. "Caster…" Kuzuki said, holding up his hands and clenching them into fists. With a nod and a smile, she cast a spell on her Master, whose fists began to glow with an unearthly light. Moving with inhuman speed, Kuzuki sprang into the offensive, pummelling Assassin with his fists, forcing the Servant onto the defensive. Blocking or turning the attacks to avoid taking their full force head on, Assassin manoeuvred to increase their combat space by knocking down the paper walls of the temple interior.

"Not bad for a Human." He said, springing back and smiling behind his mask.

"I am honoured by your praise." Kuzuki responded dead pan, before springing back into the offensive. Assassin was ready this time though, and the two quickly became a blur of shadowy shapes moving at inhuman speed, striking and blocking at one another. Caster watched the two with a smile, arm held out palm outwards glowing with purple light, ready to strike Assassin down once an opening became apparent…only to be caught off-guard when a shadowy blade tore through her from behind, consuming most of her energy and severing her spinal column, effectively paralyzing her from the waist down, with the pain rendering further movement impossible.

"H-how…" she whispered as she toppled backwards as her vanquisher pulled his blade out of her. Kuzuki saw Caster fall from out of the corner of an eye; capitalizing on the opening, Assassin moved to strike at Kuzuki's head. The man blocked the strike, but distracted as he was by the fall of his Servant, he didn't realize it was a feint…leading to his demise as Assassin plunged a dagger into his heart. Letting the man fall to the floor dead, the Servant looked at his Master kneel down beside Caster, wreathed in his dark shadows.

"Master…Souichirou…" Caster whispered, tears flowing from her eyes as she lay broken on the floor. Grief turned to rage and hate as Shinji held her chin and looked at her closely. "You bastard…how dare you…I don't know how you did it, but…" she broke off when Shinji slapped her hard.

"Know your place, woman." He said, smiling wide and his eyes gleaming insanely. "From the moment your barrier collapsed, this whole place has become Matou's, _my_, territory. That's why you never sensed me coming – because I, the master of this place, didn't let you." Moving back, his shadows swirled around them both, tendrils grabbing hold of Caster's limbs and shadows dissolving away her clothes.

"W-what are you doing…stop…stop this…stay away from me!" Caster shrieked, struggling vainly against Shinji's restraints as the insane rapist of a mage began to take off his own clothes.

"Now, now; just lie back and enjoy yourself. You're not bad looking, and if you serve me well, I might just share the Holy Grail with you when the time comes."

"No! Stay away! Stay away! No!"

As the woman's shrieks echoed across the temple interior, Assassin stalked off in disgust; killer and murderer he may be, but even one such as he had standards. As the Servant killed off any remaining Humans in the temple grounds, the darkness of the Matou fell over Mt. Ryuudo. With a surge of power felt by sensitives across Fuyuki City, an even more powerful barrier surrounded the temple, drawing its power directly from the fragments of the Lesser Holy Grail within Shinji's body. Caster's familiars vanished, to be replaced by Matou familiars; some took the form of chimera-like beings, while others were mere blobs of flesh with tentacles for limbs, born from ten years of horrific and hellish efforts by the fallen House of Matou.

* * *

Ryuuken Ishida looked out a window in the hospital he worked in towards Mt. Ryuudo; it seemed that the war had taken a turn for the worse. Sighing, he recalled the devastation of the previous war, and wondered if Sakura and Uryuu could prevent history from repeating itself.

"Dr Ishida; is something wrong?" a nearby nurse asked.

"No, it's nothing. Thanks for your concern though." He replied with an affable smile.

* * *

"Matou…figures. I should have known those damned corpses wouldn't resist trying to seize control of the Greater Grail well before the appointed time. Not to mention with no sense of elegance or refinement whatsoever." Illya spat in disgust, her evening ruined by this sensation; trying to forget, she turned back to her supper. Although the cooking was as good as always, it didn't taste as well as it should have tasted.

* * *

"Matou…I should have known. Oh well, I suppose it's only a matter of time before the Quincy Archers move out in force. I certainly hope they remain discreet." Caren said, looking out of her bedroom window; after a yawn, she walked back to bed, laid down, and went back to sleep.

* * *

"Shiro, wake up!" Sabre said, pulling the door open to find Shiro already awake.

"I know! Something…something that should not have happened has happened. Can you tell where?" Shiro asked, fixing his clothes as he got to his feet.

"Yes; the temple atop a nearby mountain."

"Ryuudo Temple? But that's…Issei…shit!"

* * *

"Uryuu; did you feel that?" Sakura asked running back into the library in full combat attire.

"Of course I did. It seems that the Matou have assaulted and seized control of Mt. Ryuudo before we could." Uryuu replied without glancing up from where he was performing last minute diagnostics on an M6 Grindell. Handing it to her, he said "Be careful Sakura. Assassin and Shinji will be waiting for you."

Putting her Boonie hat on, and holstering the energy weapon behind her, she nodded and said "I won't; let's go, Iskander."

"Wait…" Uryuu said, taking his glasses off and standing up.

"What is it?" Sakura asked…and was caught off-guard when Uryuu pulled her close and kissed her on the lips. A few moments later, they came apart, Sakura at a loss for words and blushing mildly. "Just for luck…and come back home, alright?" Uryuu said, putting his glasses on and looking at her with an undecipherable expression on his face.

"Of course I will…" she whispered with a soft smile, placing a hand on his cheek. After a moment, she removed her hand and said "I'm off."

"Good luck."

* * *

"Rin, are you sure about this? You're risking your child's life as well as your own." Archer asked in concern, holding Rin tightly as they leaped across the skies from skyscraper to skyscraper over Fuyuki City, heading for Mt. Ryuudo.

"I know; but I can't just turn a blind eye to this. And Sakura will be heading there as well, I just know it. We'll need to back her up, and she'll be backing us up as well."

"Blood is thicker than water, huh? Well, I suppose I can respect that."

* * *

Assassin waited in the shadows; he had seen the lightning-wreathed chariot of that conqueror king land some way from the base of the stairs leading up to the temple gates; apparently, they had predicted that the barrier's only weak point was the temple entrance itself. And rather than waste energy breaking through the barrier, they would advantage of that weak point. Assassin smiled at the thought; he had expected nothing less from the Lord of War himself.

That smile faded, however, at the sight of Sakura slowly make her way up the stairs, apparently all alone. Assassin was no fool; it was clear that Sakura was using herself as bait to draw him out. Daggers would be useless here; Iskander had already made it clear that he could easily block incoming ranged attacks with no difficulty whatsoever. Assassin would have to gamble it all on a single, high-speed attack; drawing his sword, he manoeuvred to a position above Sakura, and leaped down right in front of her from above, intending to behead her in one fell swoop. And it should have worked, had not another warrior in ancient armour precisely blocked the killing blow and swept his sword in a backhanded swing, forcing Assassin to leap away, his chance wasted.

Iskander was there, standing by his Master's right side; but they were not alone. Standing beside and behind them were a hundred Macedonian Imperial Army veterans, stern and war-hardened men utterly dedicated to their king, to one another, and to their allies. Snarling in frustration, Assassin melted back into the shadows even as Matou familiars appeared, snarling and ready for battle.

Unfazed, Iskander drew his sword; holding it above his head, he swept it down to point at the enemy ahead. Without a word, the warriors hurled deadly, iron-tipped javelins in a rain of death, decimating the ranks of the familiars. Lashing out in fury, the surviving familiars – now joined by others – leaped forward to attack. "Draw your swords!" Iskander commanded sharply; as one, the warriors drew their blades. "Eliminate them!" the king commanded, and the warriors finally made a sound as they shouted their battle cries and met the enemy. Despite the latter's superior numbers and command of the high ground, the superior skills and dedication of the warriors proved decisive, familiar falling after familiar, steadily pushing upwards towards the temple gates.

As battle was joined, Sakura and Iskander stood there, ignoring the melee around them. Assassin took this chance to attack, swooping in low and making to stab the girl's neck from the left, only for Iskander to block in time and push him back into the forest, where other warriors fought with Matou familiars. "Sakura; leave this to me!" Iskander shouted back as he stalked off in pursuit of his opponent.

"Do you think it wise to fight me in a place like this?" Assassin taunted, throwing daggers and launching hit-and-run strikes from multiple directions on rapid succession; to his frustration, Iskander easily coped and taunted back "Something like this…is no different from mountain campaigning!"

Nodding to herself in satisfaction that Assassin was fully pre-occupied by Iskander, Sakura pulled out her M6 Grindell, shouldered it, and aimed for the temple gates above. As the laser charge built with an increasingly high whine, she shouted "Clear the way!"

The warriors in the line of fire quickly dodged out of the way moments before a glowing red lance of pure power seared through the air and demolished the temple gateway in a blazing storm of destruction, blowing a hole through the gathered familiars that the warriors quickly took advantage of…and as expected, the energy weapon's impact against the barrier shorted it out instantly. "My lady!" a nearby warrior shouted, pausing in his charge up the battlefield. "Leave this to us and advance to the objective."

"Right!" she responded curtly, leaping forward and up on invisible reishi platforms; as she reached the former gateway, several familiars attempted to launch an ambush, only for Sakura to jump up out of their reach and saying playfully "Excuse me!"

As the familiars looked up after their prey, they failed to notice several primed grenades dropping to the ground around them…and blowing them apart after a moment. At the same time, high in the air, Sakura aimed her weapon at the entrance hall and pulled the trigger, destroying it in a blast of red light. Dropping back to the ground, by the time her feet touched the ground, the heavy weapon had been holstered behind her, and she had materialized a pair of handguns in both hands. As familiars closed in with deadly intent, she danced through them, bolts of reishi blasting out from both guns with deadly accuracy and speed, tearing them apart in a storm of silvered light. "Is this it, Matou?" she said, disdain dripping from her voice as a massive explosion obliterated an entire wing of the temple and wiped out an approaching column of familiars. "All you have are numbers; this won't stop us!"

"Sakura!" she heard a voice shout her name as the familiars closest to her were either impaled by flying blades or were blown apart by glowing gems. Turning, she saw her sister run up to her and aimed a gun apparently at her head, causing Rin and Archer to pause in shocked surprise…only for Sakura to fire over a shoulder and destroying a familiar trying to sneak on her older sister.

"Nice aim." Archer complimented her and Sakura smiled in response. "Thanks, but we have other matters to attend to."

"She's right. Archer, can you handle these familiars until Iskander and his warriors can break through? In the meantime, Sakura and I will handle Matou inside."

"Is that wise? There could be more familiars inside."

"Unlikely…" Sakura disagreed, shaking her head. "…Matou will seek to subjugate us personally. The bastard has his issues."

"Agreed; well, Archer?"

"Alright then; good luck to the two of you." Archer finally said, materializing his preferred blades and getting into a ready stance.

As Archer held the rear guard, the two sisters entered the defiled temple through the ruins of the entrance hall. The two were silent, watching each other's backs, even as they warily surveyed their surroundings. Gems glowed in Rin's hands, while moonlight glinted off of Sakura' spirit weapons. Finally, they reached the central sanctuary and were greeted by the sight of Shinji seated on a throne in the middle of another inscribed pentagram.

"I see you made yourself at home, Matou." Rin said dangerously, though Sakura was silent.

"Naturally; this is the centre of the Holy Grail system, my birth right as the heir of the Matou. Won't you join me, Tohsaka? This is also your birth right, the two of you. I don't see how we can't…" he broke off as Sakura walked to a corner of the room, where Rin belatedly noticed a nude, purple-haired woman lay curled up in a foetal position.

Sakura knelt and reached out a hand only to be surprised as the woman's eyes suddenly opened. "Please…" Caster begged, her eyes filled with such despair. "…kill me." Realizing that she could do nothing more for her, Sakura nodded sadly before standing up and firing a reishi bolt into Caster's head, mercy killing her.

"That was quite cruel of you, Sakura, killing a helpless woman like that." Shinji mocked; only for Sakura to retort "I have no intention of discussing sophistry with you, bastard."

De-materializing her guns, she drew twin Seele Schneider, both of them melee-optimized de Bergerac-pattern. Whirling and her eyes ablaze with fury, she snarled "You die!"

"Wait, Sakura!" Rin shouted, but it was too late; Sakura blurred, clones closing on Shinji from all directions. Smirking, he lashed out with his tendrils; having absorbed Caster's power, his shadows were now of even greater strength and speed, quickly destroying Sakura's clones and exposing the real Sakura, who was forced onto the defensive…until a tendril cut her cheek and several drops of her blood splattered onto the inscribed pentagram around Shinji's throne.

In an instant, Shinji's shadows vanished, and black lightning hungrily crackled and danced around and over him and his throne. "W-w-what is this?" he stammered out before he began to scream and writhe in agony.

"What's happening?" Rin asked but quickly turned to Sakura as the younger woman dropped her weapons and clutched her head in pain. "What's wrong, Sakura?"

"S-something's coming…" she whispered; pulling herself together, she pulled out a regular Seele Schneider, materialized her bow, fired it, and blew a hole through the walls to the temple grounds outside. "We have to get out of here!" she said, offering an arm to her sister; after a moment, Rin grabbed the arm and escaped with her sister. And not a moment too soon; even as the two escaped, Shinji screamed as red and black energy consumed him and a pillar of black power wreathed in red lightning shot up towards the heavens, the clouds shuddering as though in agony.

Archer, Iskander, and the warriors looked on in surprise as their foes literally melted away and Sakura and Rin arrived in their midst…when suddenly the whole temple complex exploded in crimson flame. Sakura and Rin's faces took on a look of horror; unlike the Servants, neither could survive the impending firestorm, and neither had time to erect a barrier.

Thankfully, two of Iskander's warriors were close enough to get into position in time to shield the two women behind their shields, saving their lives. As the flames died down, everyone present – the Servants opening their eyes and lowering their arms/shields, Sakura and Rin appearing from behind their saviours and thanking them gratefully – they were all stunned to see a figure getting to her feet amidst the ruins, shimmering with crimson energies. A woman with silver hair, red eyes, and red patterns on her exposed skin…and her face a mirror image of the younger Tohsaka heiress.

"No…it cannot be…" Archer said, his eyes wide and his voice filled with horror.

"What…" Iskander began.

"…the…" Rin continued.

"…hell?" Sakura finished.

* * *

A/N

How did Iskander summon all those warriors outside of the reality marble and not drain Sakura of energy? Easy enough to answer; Quincy crosses can convert reishi to energy, allowing Quincy to operate independently of their own limitations regarding energy production. The only limit is how much energy they can subconsciously control (which in turn limits how much reishi can be converted at a given time).

In theory, this gives them limitless power, though in practice, it's possible for the energy supply to be exhausted before the cross can convert more reishi into energy. This leads to the use of silver cylinders (for storing energy) and hand seals (to refine reishi for improved/more efficient energy usage). Only masters like Ryuuken are free of this limitation, as they can subconsciously control virtually infinite reishi conversion.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Chapter 9: The Queen of Darkness

Smoke lit from below by crimson flames hungrily feeding on the blasted ruins of Ryuudo Temple shrouded the mountaintop, with the light of those same flames glinting in sinister highlights from the blades and other weapons held by the heroes assembled near the ruins of the temple gateway. All eyes were fixed on Dark Sakura as she rose to her feet amidst the ruins; eyes widened when said woman raised a human from her feet, holding him by the neck. The skin was gone, eaten away as though by acid, his hands fumbling to keep his intestines in place.

"Brother…I thought I'd killed you already…oh well, I suppose I'll just have to make really sure this time." Dark Sakura whispered as though to a lover; what was left of Shinji just stared wildly at her, slime dripping off of his wet, red, body. Then to the horror of all watching, she hugged Shinji tightly, opened her mouth, and bit down deep on his neck in the area around the carotid artery, feasting on his life blood.

"Sakura, give me something to work with here." Iskander said with deep note of concern in his voice.

"Sorry Iskander, but I've got nothing." Sakura replied, her face slack. Even as she said this, her counterpart turned towards them, causing the entire group to tense up.

"Oh? It seems I have a lot of guests…come, then. I have plenty of gifts for one and all." She said with a wide smile, her crimson eyes bright with despair and insanity. Unfazed, and with a faintly sick look on her face, Sakura raised a gun and fired a single reishi bolt, blowing apart the other woman's head and sending the headless corpse tumbling backwards.

"Hey, has anyone among you ever heard of the saying _run away to fight another day_?" Rin asked, tottering backwards slowly, her voice betraying barely-controlled panic at she had just seen.

"I have." Archer said grimly. "And I say we run away now."

"Yeah, me too pal." Sakura conceded.

"I have no complaints there." Iskander said before turning to his warriors. "Prepare to retreat!"

"How rude…and I was trying to be hospitable too." Dark Sakura said petulantly, her flesh knitting back together. "I'll teach you not to look down on me." As she said this, she waved an arm, sending seething torrents of darkness flying towards them at incredible speeds.

"Oh shit!" Sakura spat, raising both of her guns and firing off bolt after bolt, her eyes widening as her bolts _shattered _rather than dissipated the approaching darkness, indicating greater cohesion and power behind the enemy's attacks. Despite her efforts, the darkness surged forwards in a great wave.

"Hang in there!" Archer shouted in encouragement, materializing dozens of swords in the air around him, all of them silvered swords with glowing anti-demonic runes etched on their blades. With a wave of an arm, said swords flew forwards, shearing through and stopping the approaching darkness like hot knives cut through butter.

"Form a shield line!" Iskander commanded sharply. "Archers…fire!" At his command, dozens of arrows shot forward with unerring precision, lacerating Dark Sakura, who staggered backwards.

"This won't stop me…" she screamed, her face contorted and her eyes wide with fury. Rising to her feet, she screamed incoherently, an even more powerful wave of darkness blasting outwards even faster than her previous attack. Archer quickly placed himself before Rin and cut the darkness apart with the altered forms of Kansho and Byakuya. Iskander did the same with his sword, but his warriors were less fortunate – their shields were shattered and men were hurled off their feet despite blunting the attack.

Sakura however was another story; she leaped high into the air, evading the darkness completely. Completing several hand seals in rapid succession, she clapped her hands hard before deliberately spreading her arms, forming a gleaming lance of pure power between her palms. "I don't know what you are or why you look and sound like me, but I won't hold back! Take this: Starlight Javelin!" As Sakura threw her lance, Archer sensing danger, shouted "Take cover!"

The resulting explosion was quite devastating, to say the least. Thankfully, the blast was concentrated in the direction of Dark Sakura, and while the blast wave had buffeted the heroes, it was little more than an inconvenience. Landing beside them, she said "That should buy us some time. I suggest we leave while we can."

"Agreed; all units prepare to…" Iskander broke off as the smoke cleared and revealed an unbelievable sight: Dark Sakura was standing, gasping for breath, an arm held out palm outwards. Centred from where she was standing, deep and massive trenches ran across the ruins in a letter V.

"Impossible; not only did she tank my attack, but she's undamaged?" Sakura said in shock. "That attack should have been powerful enough to shear a stone cliff in two!"

"Why…why do you…those eyes and that hair…why…" Dark Sakura raved, clutching her head and reeling as though in agony. Darkness flared spasmodically around her as she staggered as though in a drunken state. "…is here too…where is senpai…where is everybody…and why do you look like that…" she cried out, her voice filled with despair and confusion.

"This doesn't look good at all." Sakura said, beginning to reach behind her for her M6 when she was forestalled by one of Iskander's warriors coming up to speak with them.

"Lord Iskander, my Lady; you and our allies must retreat immediately. Your abilities are necessary for our ultimate victory. In the meantime, we will remain and hold the rear guard, allowing you to retreat to safety."

"What are you saying?" Archer said in protest. "You can't beat her…"

"No; we cannot." The warrior interrupted with a look of resolution on his face. "But we will face her in battle nonetheless."

"He's right Archer. We have no choice but to retreat and come up with a strategy to deal with this new enemy." Iskander said; one glance at his facial expression made it clear he liked the idea of sacrificing brave and loyal warriors to buy time even less, but he was also right. They _had _to retreat and regroup. "You will be remembered, my friends."

The warrior smiled and said "It would have been an honour to stand by your side as you marched on the path of conquest yet again, my Lord. But it is no less an honour to give our lives in pursuit of your dreams." Turning to his fellow warriors – all of whom had the same resolute expression on their faces – he shouted "Raise the standards! Form up! Prepare to advance!"

As red banners were raised and spears and shields assembled in unbroken lines, Iskander took a last look at his brave warriors before drawing his sword and summoning his chariot. "Let's go, nee-san." Sakura said, as she and Archer joined Iskander in his chariot.

"Yeah…" Rin said, looking back as the assembled warriors marched on the enemy; having pulled herself together, she lashed out, slaying several warriors with each attack, but the warriors fought bravely and well, fighting back with swords and spears. Finally, Rin boarded the chariot, which quickly sped away to the skies. As they left, Sakura removed her hat and threw it back in the direction of the warriors behind them in respect, her black hair fluttering in the breeze.

* * *

Ryuuken walked towards the church as the taxi he rode from the hospital sped away. Knocking on the great wooden doors, he waited patiently for a few minutes before knocking again. After a few more minutes, he knocked again. Finally, a response; before he could knock a fourth time, he heard the sound of bolts being pulled back on the inside, the doors opened, and Caren stepped out causing Ryuuken to raise an eyebrow in surprise, seeing as she was wearing rather skimpy nightclothes barely covered by a robe.

"Why, good evening Dr Ishida; did you come all the way here just to visit me? I'm flattered to say the least if you had that kind of intentions in mind." She greeted him rather playfully and with a matching smile.

"Hardly…" Ryuuken responded with a cough. "…for one thing, it would hardly be proper for someone of my age to be 'visiting' you, and for another my wife would haunt me if I did. I simply came to see if you'd like to accompany me and visit the Matou Estate."

"Now why would you want to do that?"

"I'm sure you felt the disturbances earlier this evening, the former of which was caused directly by the Matou and the latter by their enemies seeking to stop their plans from succeeding. Whatever and whoever it was, I believe this is as good a reason as any to investigate and have a closer look at Matou's plans and abilities."

"Interesting…wait here; I'll go and get ready." Caren finally conceded before heading back into the church and closing the doors behind her.

* * *

Sabre and Shiro ran up the stairs and were brought to a halt by the sight of the smoking ruins of Ryuudo Temple. The fires had largely burned themselves out, though here and there across the ruins embers glowed a dull red. "This is terrible…" Shiro whispered, struggling to hold himself together, eerily reminded of the firestorm from ten years ago. Both Shiro and Sabre made their way across the ruins, looking for survivors as they did so, though Sabre privately thought to herself this was most likely an exercise in futility. Of more concern to her was that she could feel the lingering presence of a large number of Servants, much more so than could have been summoned by the seven Masters all together. "_There's no doubt about it. Iskander was here. But why…and was he behind all this?_" she thought to herself.

Unknown to the two of them, another figure lurked in the shadows of the ruins, watching and waiting. She had initially intended to attack immediately, but the sight of Shiro had brought her to a halt. "Senpai…you're here…you're alive…does this mean we can be together at last…wait…Sabre-san…here…no…senpai is mine…mine…mine…mine…mine…mine…" she whispered to herself, insanity consuming what was left of her ego even as Angra Mainyu's power flowed through her. "Senpai…is…mine…" she whispered as she finally shot out blades of darkness with impossible speed towards an unsuspecting Sabre's back.

And it would have struck her, had Shiro not sensed the danger in time. "Sabre, watch out!" he shouted, despite knowing that she could never react in time. So he did what a hero would have done: he placed himself between her and the enemy, and was impaled in several places across his torso. "Sabre…" he rasped as blood poured from his mouth and toppled forwards as Dark Sakura retracted her blades.

"No…why…why did you protect her…why…" Dark Sakura said, her face a mask of anguish. Anything else she might have said was lost when with a whirlwind of power, Sabre leaped into the attack, a gleaming golden sword in her hands. "You bastard!" she shouted in anger.

* * *

"What the hell is going on here?" Sakura raged in the Ishida Manor's library. Iskander brooded silently, gazing out of a nearby window, while Uryuu interfaced with Yggdrasil via a VR headset.

"All we know right now is that blast before that…whatever it was appeared was a dimensional rift of some sort." Uryuu said, taking off the headset. "But while we don't know who or what came through that rift, whatever or whoever it is has been classified as a Class One threat; Valkyrie Special Ops - Japan has already mobilized to provide backup, and the True Ancestors are en route to Fuyuki City."

"Knowing is half the battle…and we don't know who or what we're up against. This is a critical situation, and I don't like it." Sakura said darkly, sitting down on a couch even as Rin and Archer arrived with some tea.

"I agree…and I think it's time we get some answers." Iskander said, turning away from the window. Drawing his sword and pointing it at Archer, he said "Alright you, talk; you recognized that monstrosity for what it was when it first appeared. I lost good men out there and I won't let their deaths go un-avenged and wasted. What or who was that thing?"

"And more importantly, who are you really?" Sakura put in suspiciously. "You were imaging Noble Phantasms earlier, weren't you? I've never heard of a Heroic Spirit making use of forgeries before…not to mention your tantalizingly familiar spiritual pressure…"

Several tense moments followed, broken by Iskander who ominously whispered "So…you won't answer?"

"No; there's no need for violence." Rin said at last; raising an arm, her command spells flared brightly before one of them vanished into nothingness. "Archer, tell us: who are you and what was that?"

Archer grimaced and made a sound of disgust before replying "Looks like I have no choice…alright, for starters my name is Shiro Emiya."

* * *

"A barrier?" Ryuuken said as both he and Caren Ortensia stood before the gates leading into the Matou Estate. Ryuuken raised a hand palm outwards and placed it against the barrier, which flared in protest; Ryuuken merely smiled and pushed, his palm glowing with silver fire, and after a moment, the barrier collapsed, fading away into nothingness.

"Very impressive." Caren commented offhand, and Ryuuken shrugged.

"If you say so; Zouken Matou should be skulking about somewhere around here. Stay close."

"Please restrain him if possible; I understand it's quite tempting to just erase his soul, but allow me a chance to exorcise him first, if possible."

"You're quite merciful, aren't you? Although I would say that you are quite cruel; rather than the silence of oblivion, you will be sending him to the next world with the knowledge that all his labors to achieve his goals will be for nought."

"You may think that if you wish, but the mercy of God is offered to all, even to those who would not expect to receive it."

* * *

The resulting silence was so profound that a pin dropping to the floor would have sounded like a cannon shot. Finally, Rin's eyes rolled back and she began to topple backwards to the floor, causing an alarmed Sakura to spring forward to catch her and Archer to laugh at the sight. "Well now, I never actually expected Rin to faint." He said, smiling in a manner all too similar to his younger self.

"Hold on there! That Emiya boy doesn't look anything like you at all." Iskander protested before Archer turned to him and said "Yes, at the moment he doesn't, but he will eventually if he ever gets around to mastering his abilities."

"Is that so now?" Iskander said, sheathing his sword. "Then what was that?"

"Not what, but who; that is the avatar of Angra Mainyu, Sakura Matou."

"What?" Sakura, Uryuu, and Iskander said as one in surprise.

"I come from an alternate timeline. The Quincy did not exist there, and Sakura Tohsaka was adopted into the Matou. Well, I'm pretty sure you know what probably happened to her." Archer said with a look at Sakura, who shuddered, thinking about what hellish things had happened to her counterpart. "She was ultimately implanted with the fragments of the destroyed Lesser Holy Grail from the Fourth Holy Grail War, turning her into a Lesser Holy Grail herself. It also allowed Zouken Matou to take control of her at times, by transforming her into a monstrous being – Dark Sakura. That is who we face."

"So, now what do we do?" Sakura asked, trembling in horror; noticing this, Uryuu sat down beside her and pulled her close, placing her head on his shoulder.

"I'm not finished yet; by the time the Fifth Holy Grail War began, years of rape, abuse, and torture had driven her to the brink of insanity. Even her affections for me eventually became a weakness that Zouken took advantage of…and finally, when she killed her brother in self-defence, she gave in to her despair and became who she is. Breaking free of his control, she went on a rampage, and ultimately was killed by her own sister, Rin."

"A mercy kill?" Sakura whispered, and Archer shook his head.

"No, she killed her to fulfil her duty as the Supervisor."

"And you didn't stop me?" Rin asked softly, causing Archer to turn and look at her.

"No; at the time I swore to myself, that even if the entire world hated me, cursed me, and cast me out, I would sacrifice everything, even the people I love, to face and destroy all the evils of the world with a mind of steel. The act of killing her sister drove Rin insane, and she sought the Holy Grail to undo the damage, so at the conclusion of the war I killed her as well."

"No regrets, huh?" Iskander said softly, his face undecipherable.

"Only one; I saved many people throughout my life, killing hundreds to save thousands, millions to save billions…I do not regret that. But the fact I couldn't save the life of a single girl, led me to make a contract with the world; in exchange for my services as a Counter-Guardian, I would be allowed to become a Servant in the Holy Grail Wars, and thus have a chance to meet and kill my younger self, so as to ensure that he would not go through what I have gone through."

"I will not allow you to kill Shiro." Rin grated out, struggling to a sitting position.

"I don't need to; it seems that in this timeline, I can leave him safely to you."

"Now what do we do, Emiya?" Sakura asked, pulling herself together. "What will that counterpart of mine do? And how is she here if my sister killed her?"

"That Dark Sakura is probably from a timeline wherein we failed to stop her. At the moment, with only Caster and probably Assassin's power, she cannot activate the Greater Holy Grail and open the gates of hell. She will need all seven to do so, which buys us time to stop her."

"Even if she can't open the gates of hell yet, she's still Angra Mainyu's avatar." Uryuu said in concern, standing up and pacing. "We don't stand a chance against her; we'll have to wait for Kurosaki and Brunestud to arrive."

"One thing's for sure though…" Sakura said, wearily leaning back as everyone looked at her. "…we're in deep shit now."

* * *

Excalibur stabbed deep into the ground as Sabre sank to her knees, bleeding badly from several wounds. Whoever or whatever this enemy was, she wasn't giving her a chance to charge and fire Excalibur's main attack.

"You…you…you...because of you…senpai…" Dark Sakura ranted, darkness flaring around her. "DIE!" she screamed, waves of darkness flowing and overshadowing Sabre, who wondered to herself if this was the end…when with a roar of fury Berserker leaped down between her and the enemy, crushing the darkness with raw power.

"Honestly, what is it with commoners touching my belongings?" Illya angrily said as she appeared right next to Sabre. "Berserker, finish her off!"

In response, the giant roared and charged; in response, Dark Sakura raised a hand and fired off another torrent of darkness, literally dissolving Berserker's torso and unleashing a massive explosion as God Hand was triggered. Roaring his defiance to the heavens, Berserker continued to press forwards even as his body was steadily consumed and God Hand was triggered again and again.

"Impossible…Berserker is actually going to lose?" Illya said in disbelief before turning to shout at Sabre. "Sabre, that sword of yours is a holy sword isn't it? Hurry and do something about that shadow!"

"I do not take orders from you!" Sabre shouted back, getting to her feet.

"Well, if you don't do anything, both of us and onii-chan will soon be dead or worse!" the little girl snapped back. Gritting her teeth, she realized that Illya was right; getting into her stance, she began to charge her sword, a miniature whirlwind quickly forming around her even as golden light began to build around the blade. "Hurry!" Illya shouted as Saber raised the sword over her head and blindingly bright golden light swallowed the ruins.

As Sabre prepared to release her attack, Berserker finally succumbed and was consumed into the darkness of Angra Mainyu; screaming her rage and insanity to the heavens, darkness exploded around Dark Sakura in defiance of Humanity's light of hope and blasted all its power against Illyasviel, Sabre, and the prone and unconscious Shiro.

And even as it seemed as though all hope was lost, Sabre powerfully swung her sword downwards and shouted "EXCALIBUR!"

* * *

A/N

At first glance it would seem unusual that everyone takes Archer's story without question…until you realize that it wouldn't seem all that strange considering they're already walking around with long-dead heroes, and not to mention Sakura and Uryuu's ability to destroy souls among other things. And Rin did use a command spell, so Archer could not possible have lied about his story.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Chapter 10: The Masters

The golden light of Excalibur lit up the night sky, so pure that even all the evils of the world had to concede defeat, burned away by Humanity's hopes for a better future and the perfect world. As the light faded, Illya lowered her right arm, which she had raised to shield her eyes from the blinding light. "Excalibur…the Sword of Promised Victory…" she whispered in awe at the sight. Then she raised a hand to her forehead, her eyes squinting in pain…and abruptly, the pain vanished as she reopened her eyes with a cold and resolute expression on her face.

Even as Sabre sank to her knees, gasping for breath, her power exhausted, Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern took a few steps forward and surveyed the destruction caused by the battle. Excalibur hadn't just levelled most of the ruins; it had blown off a considerable chunk off of the mountaintop as well. "It got away…and while we did hurt it, it's probably even angrier for all that. It'll probably be back for revenge too. How troublesome…" She said coldly before turning on Sabre.

"I-Irisviel…no, it can't be. W-w-who are you?" Sabre gasped out, rising to her feet. Justeaze ignored the Servant, raising a hand and examining it closely.

"This girl's body is well-suited to be a vessel for the Lesser Holy Grail, but it is ill-suited to handle my consciousness." Justeaze noted with disappointment before she sighed in resignation. Closing her eyes, she concentrated for a moment…and Illyasviel von Einzbern opened her eyes and looked around her in surprise.

"Answer me! Who are you?" Sabre demanded, leaning on her sword for support.

"How rude; demanding such things from me!" Illya snapped in outrage. "If you must know, I am Illyasviel von Einzbern, Servant Sabre!"

"Impossible…" Sabre said in surprise, sinking to her knees in exhaustion. "…you cannot be that person…if you were, how can you still be a child now when you were a child ten years ago?"

Illya's eyes widened in surprise, and she thought to herself "_Impossible…she cannot be the same Sabre summoned by mother and father ten years ago. She's just another copy from the Throne of Heroes…but if so, how can she remember me?_" Noticing the exhausted state of the other woman, she said "You will not last much longer, Sabre. It seems that onii-chan lacks the ability to provide you with sufficient energy at this time to maintain your existence in this world."

Moving closer to the other woman, Illya reached out with a finger and deliberately ran it along Excalibur's gleaming edge, cutting her skin and causing it to bleed a little. While she felt bad for trying to help her enemy, she would still feel worse if she didn't help someone who just saved her life and avenged her fallen Servant. And besides, there was that thing out there, lurking in the darkness and licking its wounds. They would need one another to survive whatever it was the Matou had brought forth from the outer darkness in their clumsy attempt to gain control of the Greater Holy Grail.

"Drink; this should give you enough power to last until onii-chan recovers." Illya said, offering her bleeding finger to Sabre, who recoiled in disgust. "Well, I'm certainly not giving you power the other way!" she finished, blushing slightly.

After a moment, Sabre reluctantly took Illya's finger into her mouth and drank her blood. Once she had acquired enough power for normal activity, she stopped, and rising to her feet, said "Thank you, Illyasviel. While you have not given me an answer to my earlier question, I thank you nonetheless for allowing me to remain in this world. If I may ask, should I or should I not consider you an ally?"

"Don't misunderstand…" Illya said dismissively and with a wave of an arm. "…I'm only doing this because onii-chan needs you to protect him. And there is that walking disease that those Matou corpses brought into this world…our best chance against it is your sword. Get onii-chan and follow me." As Illya strove off, Sabre sighed, de-materialized Excalibur, and then went to pick up her unconscious Master before following the silver-haired girl into the night.

* * *

Rin, Sakura, Archer, and Iskander ran out of the Ishida Manor when they saw the golden light illuminating the grounds outside the windows. "What was that?" Uryuu asked in surprise as they saw the light encompassing Mt. Ryuudo fade away.

"Excalibur…the Sword of Promised Victory…" Archer said in shock.

"Excalibur; but that's Sabre's Noble Phantasm. Which means Shiro went to Ryuudo Temple!" Rin said in horror. "We have to get there quickly; Archer!"

"Wait a…" Sakura began to say when Iskander summoned his chariot.

"Get in, all of you…we waste any more time and that kid becomes demon bait."

* * *

The front doors of the Matou Manor exploded inwards, Ryuuken Ishida calmly walking through the space they had once occupied with Caren Ortensia close behind him. "Knock knock…" he said half-heartedly. At once two chimera-like familiars melted out of the floors and snarled dangerously…only to be blown to dust when Ryuuken pointed a finger and disdainfully fired off a pair of Holy Arrows in quick succession. "Don't be insulting, Zouken Matou. Something like those misshapen dolls is hardly worth my time and effort."

"The one who breaks into the home of others has hardly the right to say such a thing." Zouken replied, appearing out of nowhere on the far side of the entrance hall.

"Right…as if a place steeped in such ancient and malevolent evil can be called a home." Ryuuken snorted; drawing a de Bergerac-pattern Seele Schneider, he activated the glowing blade and pointed it in explicit challenge to the ancient evil that stood before him. In response, Zouken straightened and with a cruel smile, raised his cane in a stance. "Come, Quincy."

At the same time, the Masters of the Matou and the Ishida came together, masterfully parrying and striking at each other even as they circled one another, reinforced wood and metal clashing against accelerated reishi. Zouken was a grotesque parody of a man, leering in proud disdain at his opponent, while Ryuuken was cold and impassive as ice. The two sprang back as they came full circle; Zouken immediately raised his cane impossibly fast for a man his age and pointing it at Ryuuken, fired off a deadly bolt of darkness. The Quincy swatted it aside with a backhanded swing of his other hand, while he reversed his blade and stabbed it backwards into the familiar that melted out of the shadows behind him, causing it to scream as it died.

"Not bad for someone of your age…but enough games." Ryuuken whispered dangerously, taking his stance.

"Indeed…" Zouken said with a mocking smile, lowering his cane and tapping it on the floor…and the walls began to bleed, even as the wailing of lost souls filled the air and wraiths began to claw their way out of the floor, shrieking in insane agony and seeking to have others share in their dark fate.

"Vile…" Caren said in disgust, crossing herself. "…your insanity knows no bounds, mage. May God show you mercy, for men will not."

Ryuuken narrowed his eyes, ignoring the wraiths now slowly closing around him…and in an instant, he was before his surprised opponent; grabbing him by the collar, they teleported elsewhere, catching the priestess off-guard. "_Teleportation: a skill highly-prized among the mages, yet so commonplace among the Quincy…to accomplish such a feat without the need of silver cylinders…you are truly a master, Ryuuken Ishida._" She thought to herself, before she turned and left the Manor; this was no place for one such as her, and she would await the Quincy's return outside the grounds.

* * *

Ryuuken poured reishi into his arteries as they arrived at their destination – the riverbanks near the mouth of the river – giving him the inhuman strength to slam the astonished mage into the ground with enough force to kill an ordinary Human. Ryuuken was no fool; he knew that would only disorient Zouken, and only for a brief time at that. Raising his weapon, he stabbed down, aiming at where his opponent's heart should be, only for Zouken to dissolve into a mass of writhing insects and forcing the Quincy to escape to a safe distance with Hirenkyaku and a muttered curse.

As Zouken reappeared, Ryuuken regarded him coldly. "I've had enough of this; I originally intended to interrogate you and have Priestess Ortensia exorcise you afterwards, but not anymore. I'll destroy you, here and now." Raising a hand to his face, Ryuuken said slowly and deliberately "Quincy: Vollständig."

* * *

A pillar of blindingly bright light shot upwards into the sky, punching a hole through the clouds and causing the wind shear to buffer Iskander's chariot as he and his companions flew towards Mt. Ryuudo.

"What the hell?" Archer said, unable to recognize the phenomenon.

"Dad…I don't believe it…" Uryuu said, his eyes and voice betraying his awe.

"Believe it…that's Quincy: Vollständig right there." Sakura said, her eyes and voice betraying equal awe at the sight.

"What's that?" Rin queried her sister.

Sakura smirked before replying "Tell me, nee-san; have you ever heard of the Quincy: Letzt Stil?"

"Of course; father told me everything he knew about the Quincy shortly after you were engaged to Ishida-kun." Rin replied, still transfixed on the brilliant pillar of reishi. "The legendary Quincy: Letzt Stil, a technique which allowed the Quincy to break the limitations of Human beings…for a time at least. Once the time limit is reached however, all of the user's Quincy powers will disappear."

"Correct…" Uryuu said, nodding. "…but after the Quincy Massacre two hundred years ago, the Quincy: Letzt Stil was upgraded into Quincy: Vollständig."

"The power of a god at your fingertips, but without the limitations of its predecessor; the difference between this technique and that technique is as great as the distance between Heaven and Earth." Sakura finished, looking on with triumph as the pillar faded away. "I don't know who or what made Ryuuken-san use it, but it's 'The End' for whoever or whatever it is."

"I see…" Rin said, before turning to Iskander who had silently listened all this time. "…Iskander, please: hurry to Mt. Ryuudo."

* * *

Zouken's eyes widened in awe as the pillar of reishi vanished and Ryuuken was exposed; a white mantle had materialized around him, from which brilliant, angelic wings with armoured joints sprouted, and a translucent visor shielded his eyes. Armoured, silvered gauntlets protected his hands, one of which held an ornate, silvered bow.

"So, you finally show your true colours, Quincy." Zouken gloated. "For all your ideals, you are really no different from the rest of us; to achieve that level you have forsaken your Humanity and attained the power of a god."

As Ryuuken watched impassively, Zouken released the seals he had placed on himself, his body bloating and morphing in a horrific manner, losing the last vestiges of Humanity.

"Power…overwhelming power!" the madman shrieked; his body was now a monstrous, barn-sized, four-legged beast with a gaping maw that dripped acidic saliva, and worst of all, Zouken's face, restored to a youthful appearance, gazing from the thing's forehead.

"So, the man finally reflects the monster." Ryuuken grimly noted with a satisfied smile.

"DIE!" Zouken raved; and the thing that was his body snarled and opened its jaws, forming a sphere of black power between them; Ryuuken's eyes widened in surprise as he dodged the thing firing off a powerful beam of pure power that left a swathe of destruction along the riverbank behind it and destroying an entire section of the Fuyuki City bridge.

"What's wrong Quincy? Why aren't you…eh?" Zouken suddenly stopped his taunts as he tasted blood in his mouth; belatedly he realized that his body had been blown into two from behind. As it wasted away, what was left of Zouken – a shrivelled husk that barely resembled a man – cowered, barely able to move as it lay on the ground as an angelic figure approached.

"You're too slow, old man. Too slow…and one more thing, I never forsook my Humanity. I transcended it; in your own words, I became a god, and you became a monster. And monsters can defeat neither gods nor Humans. This is the end, Zouken Matou. This is oblivion."

And with that final declaration, Ryuuken raised his bow and fired off a Holy Arrow with enough power to blow a crater several meters in diameter. All Zouken felt in those last moments was a feeling of despair and great hatred for the man who stood before him.

* * *

Archer stood up from where he was kneeling before the edge of Mt. Ryuudo's new mountaintop and said "There's no doubt about it. This was Excalibur's work."

"Any sign of Shiro and Sabre?" Rin asked anxiously, looking at a bloodstain on the ground that her sister and her fiancé's senses had identified as Shiro's blood.

"None, I'm afraid." Archer responded, shaking his head.

"Company…" Sakura said laconically as Assassin hobbled out into the open; Archer immediately placed himself before Rin, while Iskander and Uryuu did likewise for Sakura. At the same time, five Immortals – Persian Royal Guard – appeared around Assassin with drawn blades pointed at the Servant.

"Wait…" Assassin said, raising both hands in a placating manner. "…I didn't come here to fight. I came to give you…valuable information."

"Is that so now?" Iskander said impassively. "And why should we trust you? You've already tried to kill my Master twice in the past."

"True…but I am an Assassin. That is what I do. And I am also a Servant – I only obeyed my Master's command."

"Then tell us…what is this valuable information you claim to have?"

"Simple; that boy you seek was injured by that monster my Master unleashed upon us all. Strangely enough, while the creature was perfectly capable of striking the moment the boy and his Servant arrived, it hesitated and struck out against the Servant first." Assassin smirked behind his mask before continuing "Even more surprising was the fact that the boy risked his own life to save the Servant."

Noting Rin's alarmed expression, he nodded reassuringly in her direction and said "Rest assured, while he was indeed injured most severely, he survived. Sabre immediately counterattacked, and in a most reckless fashion. Had not Berserker intervened, she would have been consumed most undoubtedly."

"And then what?"

"Berserker was consumed, but that bought enough time for Sabre to unleash her power and cause our enemy to retreat for the time being. Sabre and her Master then departed with Berserker's Master."

"So, Berserker has fallen…tell me, Assassin, was Berserker's Master a woman with silver hair and red eyes?" Uryuu asked.

Assassin nodded before replying "Indeed, although she was a child rather than a grown woman."

"Von Einzbern…well now, this is most unusual. Why would the von Einzbern Master assist the Emiya?" Rin said, perplexed by this turn of events.

"Why are you helping us?" Sakura asked bluntly.

"Don't misunderstand. I'm not doing this because of some half-baked idea of atonement. I do this out of professional pride; under my Master, I have done things I would not normally do. Even stone killers have their own codes. That's all I know." As he said this, the sun rose, and Assassin faded away into sparkling motes of light.

"This is bad; now that thing has the power not just of Caster and Assassin, but Berserker as well. And Shiro and Sabre are with the von Einzbern. God knows where they could be." Rin said worriedly.

"I know where they are." Archer said, causing the entire group to look at him in surprise. "Castle von Einzbern in the outskirts."

"Then we go there and see if we can make an arrangement with this von Einzbern girl." Iskander said.

"No, we can't use your chariot, Iskander." Sakura said, shaking her head. "The sun's already risen, and we risk drawing attention. We'll go there the normal way. But first, I'll have to go and get changed – I'd stick out like a sore thumb wearing something like this."

"Then how do we get back to Ishida Manor without drawing attention?" Rin asked, irritated at the imposed delay in their search for Shiro.

"Easy; we return by teleporting there."

* * *

A woman lay on all fours in a shadowed corner of the city park, gasping for breath as her burns and wounds closed and knitted back together. Getting to her knees, she clutched her head in agony, her silver hair and red irises turning purple and the red markings on her flesh fading away; in place of the shadowy demon was a confused young woman who staggered to her feet and looked around her.

"W-where am I?" she asked, before she felt someone looking at her from the back. Turning she saw a blonde child of about ten, wearing formal, black clothes as though for a funeral. One of the child's hands was tucked into a pocket, and the other was held by a veiled older woman also wearing formal, black, funeral clothes.

"Hello there…" he said. "…it seems that you've come back to your senses. I'd like you to pass on a message to our mutual acquaintance. Tell him to stay away from _my _Humans. Otherwise, they'd destroy him; goodbye for now, although I don't know if we'll be able to meet again."

"W-wait…" Sakura Matou said, reaching out a hand, but the mysterious pair had vanished as abruptly as they'd appeared.

* * *

"You know what?" Rin asked as she and her sister walked through the von Einzbern forest.

"What?" asked the younger woman, now wearing less conspicuous clothes, though their blue and white shades were a marked change from her sister's red and black.

"Why did Angra Mainyu take that form of all things?"

"Hmmm…I have a hypothesis, though I can't prove it." Sakura said, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "As far as we know, the Matou were trying to use blood magic to take control of the Greater Holy Grail which is housed deep within Mt. Ryuudo. Unfortunately, it seems that the system has been corrupted or damaged somehow; with Shinji holding the fragments of the Lesser Holy Grail from the previous war standing at the centre of the blood magic array, and the blood from my cut acting as a trigger, it somehow caused that incarnation of myself as the avatar of Angra Mainyu to appear…or it could be something else entirely."

* * *

"_It hurts…it hurts…it hurts…" a young boy kept saying to himself as he trudged through a sea of flames, ignoring the cries of pain and pleas of help from those around him. "..it hurts so much…" The boy's visage walking through the burning ruins faded away into nothingness, as a faded outline of a sword appeared in the darkness…_

Shiro opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, covered by a blanket all the way up to his neck. "_This isn't my house._" He thought to himself, although the bed felt quite soft and comforting. Turning his head to the side, he saw an irritated looking Sabre looking at him.

"Good morning, Shiro." She said simply.

"Sabre…where…" Shiro broke off when he heard someone else mumble something…and he felt and saw something move under the covers, placing an arm over his chest (which he belatedly realized was unclothed). "What the…" he muttered, sitting up and pushing the covers off, and was left aghast by the sight of a scantily dressed ten year old girl sleeping beside him. So he did the only thing he could think of at the time…he screamed.

* * *

Rin sneezed, coming to a halt and causing her sister to look at her in surprise. "Are you coming down with something, nee-san?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Alright…in any case we're here." Sakura said, turning from her sister to the building that stood before them. "Castle von Einzbern."

"Shiro…" Rin said anxiously.

"Don't worry, he's quite alright; and rather lively too, by the feel of things." Sakura said cheerfully, blithely unaware of Shiro's rather uncomfortable (debatably) circumstances at the moment.

* * *

A/N

Hmmm…what can I say? Oh well, regarding the identity and role of the blonde child, well, that's my secret (though it's not really important story-wise) though people who have played a certain video game would recognize him and his escort (not to mention know of his true identity).


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, names, and any copyrighted material used in this work. This is a fanfic, period. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Comments and constructive criticism are all very much appreciated.

Chapter 11: Prophecy

Rin grabbed the iron knocker mounted on the vast wooden doors of Castle von Einzbern and knocked several times. As she and her sister waited for a response, the older woman fidgeted nervously. After a few moments, her younger sister sighed and said "You know, you could calm down a bit. Trust me, your lover should be alive and well. I can sense it."

"L-lover…what the…I never…" Rin spluttered as her face turned red, causing Sakura to smirk. Before she could say anything though, the doors opened and a rather pale-skinned woman with red eyes in traditional maid wear appeared.

"_Homunculus…_" the two sisters thought at the same time.

"Ah yes, the Tohsaka sisters…you are expected. Welcome to Castle von Einzbern." The maid said, standing aside and letting the two women into the entrance hall. Sakura whistled at the sight of the expensive wooden panelling along the walls and ceiling and the thick carpets on the floor, to say nothing of the grand chandelier and the obviously even more expensive paintings on the wall.

"The von Einzbern certainly are grand, I'll give them that much." She said with a neutral expression on her face.

"But of course, nobility must play the part of nobility. It is only proper." Illya said, appearing atop the grand staircase. "Greetings, Tohsaka Princesses. I am Illyasviel von Einzbern."

"Enough with the pleasantries, Illyasviel…" Rin snapped angrily. "…what have you done with Shiro?"

"Wait…" Sakura interrupted, glaring at the little girl atop the staircase. "Who are you? Such a presence…you cannot possibly be who you say you are!"

"Oh? Interesting…it would seem that I underestimated your spiritual awareness, 'Quincy'. Or should I say…_Star Knight_?" 'Illyasviel' replied with a cold smile, relishing the look of absolute shock on Sakura's face, completely different from her previous 'spoiled little girl' persona.

"Star Knight?" Rin asked in confusion.

"The old name of the Quincy…and our 'true name' so to speak." Sakura responded grimly, gazing at the little girl atop the staircase with narrowed eyes.

"The world changed, and you changed yourselves as well. It's understandable…my apologies for disturbing your composure." The little girl commented, before turning haughtily and walking away. "Star Knight…mage…I am Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern. Welcome to Castle von Einzbern; follow me if you please, and I shall lead to that boy this descendant of mine – and apparently one of you as well – has an interest in. I'd like to speak with you in private as well, mage."

* * *

Caren sat at a table outside a coffee shop reading a book while a cup of coffee gently steamed beside her. She didn't even look up as a silver-haired and bespectacled man sat down at her table with his own cup of coffee. "You sure took your time." She commented in an off-hand fashion.

"I had to make sure that Zouken's soul was completely destroyed." Ryuuken answered, taking a drink as he did so.

"I see…" Caren finally looked up from what she was reading as an ambulance drove by. "…though I wish you could have been a little less destructive about it."

"I assure you that I held back as much as I could."

"I know you did; still, the damage caused by your confrontation was rather significant, as were the casualties. Thankfully, your abilities and their effects should be invisible for normal Humans unlike magecraft, so the flashy effects of your 'completed form' weren't noticed; apart from its effects on the cloud cover that is."

"Flashy?" Ryuuken said, smiling faintly and eyes widening in mock injury.

"Well, you did send a glowing pillar of light into the sky." Caren said, closing her book and looking at the Quincy on the other side of the table as a waiter arrived with brunch.

"I took the liberty of ordering you something to eat." Ryuuken said as the waiter served their meals, deliberately steering away from that issue.

"So I see; my thanks, Dr Ishida."

"Afterwards, we should return to the Matou Estate and proceed with our investigations."

* * *

"So basically you've possessed this girl's body?" Rin asked Justeaze as she followed her into a private room lined with bookshelves, somewhat disturbed by the very idea.

"That's a rather crude way to describe it, but yes, in a way I am possessing her body." Justeaze replied without a backwards glance as Rin closed the door behind them. "If you know the history of this Holy Grail War, then you would know that my body is currently at the heart of the Holy Grail system deep beneath Mt Ryuudo. However, 'possession' is a rather crude term; as I explained briefly earlier, each and every von Einzbern homunculus created in the past three centuries are made in my image. If the need arises, my consciousness may awaken and take control of their bodies for limited periods of time, in which time I also have access to their memories."

"Does it work in reverse as well?" Rin asked, curious despite herself. "I mean do your descendants have access to your memories as well."

"Somewhat…" Justeaze replied. "…but their recollections would be hazy and fragmented, such that any information obtained would be fragmentary at best."

"I see…"

"Now allow me to ask you a question: how did your sister become a Star Knight?" Justeaze asked, enjoying the brief look of discomfort the archaic term caused briefly pass across the other girl's face. Though she would never admit it, Rin had always prided the fact that 'mage' was a more awe-inspiring title than 'Quincy'. A belief well and truly shattered by the knowledge that their previous (prior to the attempted Quincy Genocide) title was 'Star Knight' and that said title was still in use among themselves.

"Father…he sought to build a cordial relationship with the newly-arrived Ishida family by having Sakura enter into an arranged marriage with their heir, as well as to further hasten the demise of the dying Matou Clan." Rin began hesitantly, her filial instincts recognizing the less-than-noble nature of the arrangement. "Apparently, shortly after she started living with them, they began to teach and hone her talents as one of them."

"And they succeeded." Justeaze noted with a nod. "The girl's spiritual awareness is quite impressive for her age, though in my time and age there were rumours that the First Generation Star Knights all and always have exceptional abilities even among their kind. It would seem that those rumours were the truth after all. Moving on…" Justeaze turned to look at Rin with a serious expression on her face. "…tell me, have you heard of the Star Gazer's Prophecy?"

* * *

"You're looking well, considering." Sakura noted with a bored tone, as she munched on buttered toast.

"Considering what?" Shiro asked, fidgeting uncomfortably on his side of the table; beside him, Sabre nursed a cup of tea, pointedly ignoring the conversation between Quincy and mage (albeit a rather amateurish one).

"That you nearly got torn apart by a demon-possessed alternate self of mine for starters. And that you are enjoying the hospitality of the von Einzbern for another."

"What's wrong with the last one? I could say the same for you; from what I know, the Tohsaka, the Matou, and the von Einzbern are all rivals."

"Quite…but your father seriously pissed off the von Einzbern ten years ago when he blew up the Holy Grail then and there. Or rather, he forced Sabre here to blow up said Holy Grail. Isn't that right, Arthuria Pendragon?"

"How did you…" Sabre asked in disbelief, her eyes wide with shock as Shiro went agape at the revelation.

"Well, when Ryuuken-san removed the curse on old man Kiritsugu a while back, he got a lot of information from the man." Sakura began, as she helped herself to a generous serving of bacon. "Among those were Sabre's true identity, as well as a few other…bits and pieces. Tell me Arthuria, you remember the previous Holy Grail War, don't you?"

After a few moments, Sabre nodded and Shiro asked "How is that even possible when all Servants are just supposed to be copies from the Throne of Heroes?"

"Arthuria and Alexander are special cases." Sakura explained. "For the former, it's because she became a Heroic Spirit _before _she died, and as such remains outside the cycle of transmigration. This allows her to retain any all memories from both her life as a person and as a Heroic Spirit. For the latter, well, Alexander's followers and allies are rewarded for their allegiance by a place at his side as a 'lesser' Heroic Spirit under his command, regardless of whether or not they would normally qualify for such a position. Apparently, his Master Waver Velvet was awarded such an honour, allowing Alexander to retain his memories of the Fourth Holy Grail War."

"I see…" Shiro nodded, processing the given information. Finally, he looked at Saber and asked "…so, going by your family name, are you a descendant of King Arthur or something?"

"What are you talking about? I am King Arthur." A very offended Sabre replied.

* * *

"Three hundred years ago, the Star Gazer made a prophecy based on the movements of the stars." Justeaze explained as she searched through the shelves, and eventually found what she was looking for: an old and battered book bearing the von Einzbern and Clock Tower crests on its front.

"Be warned, Tohsaka, this is Class-A secret. Were it not for my status as Arch-Mage at the time, I would never have learned of this." Justeaze said as she flipped through the book and stopped on a page which she then showed to Rin, who began to read.

_Thrice the centuries wind, the future shimmers._

_In tears, the stars mourn._

_Akasha's Seekers weep, their pride broken, grand designs for naught, dreams withered._

_Their work dust, the Seekers turn on another, shame buried in blood._

_To wither and fade, such is their fate._

_The Rebellious Children burn bright, freedom gained amidst darkness and light._

_The tide surges and the crossroads come._

_The Paths of the Future are shattered, the roads buried in uncertainty._

_The Fallen Angel comes, to point the Children to their purpose._

_The Defenders of the World are cast down, their Champion sealed, their powers overcome._

_The People awaken, their minds unshackled, their souls seeking the Forbidden Power._

_The Ascendant set forth, and the Old World trembles._

_Let those who look to the past take heed of the rising swell, and cower behind their gates._

_The Chosen be damned in their bastions, looking to the past and the past alone._

_Let them rot in shame and fear._

_Amidst the shadows of the Fifth War of the Tainted Artefact the Goddess shall shine._

_Seven Swords shall emerge but only two shall be re-forged to protect the future._

_Worlds collide, dark soul against bright soul, the iron will shall triumph and decide the fate._

_On one hand, the Goddess shall not come, and the world be drowned in darkness._

_Freedom denied._

_On the other the Goddess shall awaken, and the paths are shattered, paradox be the future._

_Freedom comes, sweet yet bitter at the same time._

_Hope burns bright with the Goddess' coming._

_Great warriors and leaders emerge, let the names of the first be known._

_The King of the World._

_The King who is no King._

_The Fallen Angel._

_The Goddess._

_The Princess of Light and Darkness._

_The Knight of Dark Light._

_The Revenant._

_The Wanderer._

_All these names and more shall champion the cause of freedom._

_The Great Will's plan comes to fruition, paradox after paradox, the eternal records burn._

_No more fate, all shall live as they dream, as the Great Will decided since time immemorial._

_I have seen that which is to come, crossroad and one destination._

_The other may not be seen, such is the paradox of the fate of freedom._

_Life shall attain its birth right, and all shall be as it always should have been._

"I don't understand." Rin said, perplexed as she handed the book back to Justeaze.

"That's not surprising; prophecies can be quite difficult to decipher."

"Assuming it even comes true." Rin noted sourly. "I thought Quincy don't believe in fate?"

"Indeed; the Star Knights never placed much fate in the idea of the pre-determined fate…the Illuminati on the other hand…well, those fools at the Clock Tower may have set events into motion that cannot be stopped when they sought to eliminate the Star Knights two centuries ago or so if this girl's memories are correct. In doing so, they have forced an alliance between the Illuminati and the Star Knights. Anyway, I believe this prophecy – assuming it's valid – refers to this point in time: the Fifth Holy Grail War, given the references to the '…Fifth War of the Tainted Artefact…' and '…Seven Swords shall emerge…' There are no such things as coincidences; the Holy Grail of Fuyuki has been tainted, and we are now in the fifth war for said treasure. Seven Servants have been summoned…and most importantly, is the line 'Worlds collide, dark soul against bright soul…' I believe this refers to the coming of your sister's alternate self and her first confrontation with said abomination. Furthermore, the continuation of the prophecy indicates that the key to stopping said abomination is your sister. No matter what, she cannot, must not lose."

"I am inclined to agree…however, with the mention of 'Akasha's Seekers' – which may be a reference to us mages – and 'Rebellious Children' – which may be a reference to the Quincy given their historical origins – should we really work to bring this prophecy about? Some of the lines imply the potential collapse of magecraft, especially the part where the 'Seekers' '…wither and fade...'

"Perhaps so…yet we may have no choice. The prophecy speaks of the world being '…drowned in darkness.' should the 'Goddess' not come."

"Troublesome…some of the titles given here sound ominous, like 'The Fallen Angel', 'The Princess of Light and Darkness', 'The Knight of Dark Light', and so on…"

"Also true…yet, would you risk the world falling to that abomination?"

"No, I guess I can't."

* * *

"You're King Arthur?" Shiro asked aghast.

"Yes, Emiya-kun, she's King Arthur." Sakura said, taking a drink. "Apparently, she hid her gender in order to succeed her father as King of Britain. And she did do quite well, regardless of how she might feel about it."

Sabre said nothing, withdrawing from the conversation, brooding on her perceived failures. "_Sorry Sabre…_" Sakura thought to herself. "_…assuming that you're still around when the Song is sung – and you will be seeing as we will need you to help defeat my counterpart – you'll be stuck here in this time and age. Whether you like it or not, your sought after redemption shall be found here…assuming we win that is._"

Coughing, Sakura proceeded to direct the conversation to 'safer' ground. "So, Emiya-kun, what's your level and specialty in magecraft? We're going to need all the help we can get to fix this situation."

Rubbing his head in embarrassment, Shiro replied "Well, to be honest, I can't really get the basics right. The only thing I'm actually proficient with is reinforcement and tracing sorcery."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and silently thought to herself "_It would seem that Ryuuken-san's assessment in the past about his abilities may be spot on. Emiya Shiro will never be a mage, because at his core, he is and always has been the embodiment of a certain form of magecraft. I wonder…_"

"In that case, Emiya-kun, I have a proposition: won't you allow me to train you and draw out your hidden potential?"

"Huh? Wait a minute, aren't you a Quincy? How can you…" Shiro's protests were cut short when Sakura interrupted.

"Of course I cannot train you into a mage…what I can do, however, is to draw out the 'core' of your abilities. This should allow you to master the basics of your power. I warn you though: training will be difficult, since I'm going to have to force your core power to manifest given the small amount of time we have to prepare for the coming battle."

"You should agree, Shiro." Rin said, surprising everyone sitting at the table as she and Justeaze entered the room. Rin had a somewhat haunted look on her face, noticed Sakura, though she didn't bring it up. "Quincy use the 'power without', and training with them would allow for a mage's 'core' as Sakura put it to be 'drawn out', vastly improving one's Thamauturgical control. It's quite ironic, Quincy and mages are opposed to one another, yet the former are the best suited to drawing out the latter's potential."

"Quite…" Justeaze agreed laconically.

"Well, Emiya-kun? Will you accept my offer?" Sakura asked.

After a moment, Shiro nodded and said "Alright, I accept. I'll do what I can to help fight our enemy, and for that I need to get stronger. I'll be counting on you, Sakura-san."

Sakura merely smiled faintly as she took a drink. "_We'll see about that…_" she thought to herself. "_…I wonder if you'll be so eager after I start putting you through the wringer._" She and Sabre continued to watch with mild amusement as Illya regained control of her body and promptly started arguing with Rin over Shiro, with the mud-slinging starting after an outraged Illya discovered that Rin had gotten pregnant with Shiro's child.

* * *

"This place…is a tomb. And an unholy one at that; it should be burned to the ground." Ryuuken commented darkly as he stomped into the Matou Manor's library where Caren was busy sorting through the gathered books and scrolls. A large pile of irrelevant material was beside her, where she threw everything that was of no use or value to them. On a nearby desk, however, was a small stack of books and other written material which she had apparently recognized as either useful or valuable for their purposes.

"Please keep your pyromaniac tendencies in check, Dr Ishida." She said, looking at him and smiling sweetly. "I'm almost finished…though I gather you found something quite disturbing in your investigation of the dungeons and other areas of the manor?"

Ryuuken spat before replying "You got that right. There are corpses, Human sacrifices, and many other things I'd rather not recall. Kariya was right – I should have destroyed the Matou years ago. I was too soft…" He broke off and ran to the window and looked out. After a moment he relaxed and slowly walked back to where Caren was.

"Is something the matter?" she asked politely.

"No, it's nothing. Just the adrenaline getting to me." He replied as he lit a smoke.

* * *

"You sure you don't need my help?" Uryuu asked as Sakura looked over several books apparently in preparation for Emiya Shiro's training session tomorrow. Personally, Uryuu pitied the young mage – given the short amount of time to train, Sakura would practically drive him into the ground as part of said 'training'.

"No, it's alright. I can handle this; thanks for the offer though. I appreciate it." She replied with a reassuring smile.

"Alright then; I'll call you when dad comes home or when dinner's ready." He said, heading back to the kitchen.

"Please and thank you." Sakura responded, as she turned back to her studies. "_Sorry Uryuu, but I've got to deal with this on my own. And this isn't about Emiya-kun's training either; I have to end my other self's torment myself. And to do that, I need a power that no Human, not even a Magician, should ever possess._"

At the same time, her eyes wandered back to the title of the technique she had uncovered: Origin Sacrifice.

* * *

A/N

As some of you might have guessed, the Fallen Angel is none other than our friend Louise Cypher. Persona-wise, he'll be using his 'Nice Guy' avatar from Shin Megami Tensei II (whose 'Chaos End' was surprisingly happy even when compared to the Neutral End) as opposed to his 'Chaotic Evil' avatar from Shin Megami Tensei or his honest but distant avatars from Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. With that…bye for now.


End file.
